Willy-wonka-hula-wicky-wacky-woo

ahulawickywackywoo
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

We went to see the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film this evening which was better than we thought. The sets and special effects were certainly more impressive but what was lacking I think was some good novelty songs with some hawaiian guitar and ukulele's! That loud disco/heavy rock stuff just sounded so crass and noisy.A lighter touch was needed. Two hours seemed abit long too and to get the next lot of punters in they stopped the film as the credits were rolling which I thought was a bit mean.

Flickr Broadcasting Company

aflicktdj
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

This is a collage for the Collage Kids group theme of "music" that I started the other day.
Went for my scan yesterday and all is as it should be so much relief all round. It was amazingly quick and only took a total of 15 minutes. In London I would have to wait at least two hours before being seen! I'd taken a magazine and a book to read but they weren't needed. Hazel and Archie came with me and waited in the park, playing on the swings and watching the house martins zooming around the field at knee height catching airbourne insects.
Today was Hazel's birthday so we went to Crewe flea market to celebrate and bought a few odd and sods. Hazel found some interesting metal gadgets including a voltmeter which will no doubt end up on her BLOG very soon!
I got a video of the Straight Story by David Lynch about an old geezer who takes a 300 mile trip across America on a motor mower.
Hazel took her sister out to the town this afternoon and borrowed the" Speak Norwegian" tape from the library that she's ordered. It's very complicated and throws you in at the deep end. We would preferred some easy words and phrases first!
Full of vegetable curry now from the Bengal Doodah over in the next village. We tried their take-away service recently and they were very good and so as it was Hazel's birthday we went again and now feel very full!


Harry Korris,B. Vincent & C. Frederick - Out In Indiah

Tommy Handley - It's That Man Again

These You Send it files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

Shakerley Mere

Watch the short Quicktime movie HERE.
A pleasant walk today at Shakerley Mere to feed the ducks, geese and moorhens etc with out stale bread. Spotted a tiny baby moorhen bobbing water following it's mum. I didnt get my camera out quick enough I was so amused by it's motion through the water and pathetic squeaks. It reached the tangle of reeds by an old half submerged log which was the nest and buried itself under the mother's feathery tum.
Earlier in the day we went into town to get some shopping and take some old toys and games etc. to the charity shop that Archie had decided he didn't want anymore. I found an extras DVD disc in a Woolworth's sale for a pound. It was from the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and was mostly short uninteresting "making of" documentarys with Dick Van Dyke but Hazel and I were delighted to find a short film about the artist/inventor Rowland Emett included. He designed and made all the strange contraptions that are used in the film.
See the work and read more about Rowland Emett HERE.

Billy Williams - Don't Send My Boy To Prison

Nellie Wallace - Three Times A Day

These You Send It files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

Butterflies in the Stomach.

The days and weeks are wizzing by and it's hard to keep up with all these blogs. Juts tried to use old Pentax "spotmatic" SLR to take some slides of new collages but the battery must flat as the light meter wasn't working. The selection from the pound shop doesn't seem to fit - hardly surprising really. I will have to go into town tomorrow to buy one for hugely inflated price no doubt!
Yesterday was a bumper mail day for a change with packets from all over. Some had Cd's in which is even more fun, so spent the day listening to some David Lindley, Stereophonics and Dead Ringers whilst making some collages and answering some mail.
That was mostly in the afternoon actually as in the morning we drove over to Crewe to look round the flea market and the charity shops. The market was quite busy but mostly real junk. Hazel found some collar studs and cuff LINKS.
In one of the charity shops found a few old scratchy records including the Harry Roy double album with some nice novelties which will upload below. Also some circus music by the Barnham & Bailey band. A lot of oompah but not much else!

Harry Roy Orchestra - Wah-De-Dah

Harry Roy Orchestra - Nasty Man

These You Send It files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

Woodworm hunt.

Hazel found some woodworm in a wicker basket in the front room and so has been on a woodworm hunt ever since. She's scared they may have got into other wickerwork so a pile of baskets now all bagged up in the garden, ready to go to the tip.
The video was standing on one wicker hamper so now we have utilised an old record player cabinet for the time being. Most TV tables are pretty hideous so looking out for something we can live with and that is not edible!
Having several blogs on the go now makes it harder to update this one so I must try and remember what has happened over the last few days.
James came over yesterday to play with Archie which was all going well until they stated to play with spud guns in the garden. James went upstairs to shoot ou the open window and he accidentally knocked over some of Archie's lego models of Hogwarts on the window sill. I though the roof was coming down! A great avalanche of lego bricks came crashing to the back yard. I rushed outside expecting to see James hanging from the guttering but he was looking rather embarressed- poking his round red face out of the window.
The boot sales on Sunday were a bit of a disapointment with only a video of Austin Powers to show for it. It was very hot again so were quite glad to get back to our nice cool house.
Hazel and Archie went to queue at Smiths for the new Harry Potter book at midnight last Friday (did I say?). Only a few people there at first being taunted by some drunks coming back from the chip shop. Hazel decided to move the car as the car park was a bit isolated and only three cars in it. When they came back the queue had grown considerably and by the time the doors opened it stretched for 200 yards or more and the drunks were in a minority and keeping their distance incase they were attacked by little girls in pointy hats and broomsticks!

Two plums in a crevasse.

Two plums in a crevasse.
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

A nice cool photo for this hot weather. Postcard courtesy of Tim Scannell. I added the plums.
Hazel is listening to Radio 4 on the wind-up radio in her workshop. She's slowly getting round to doing some metalwork in there - scraping the door and hoovering up the flaked paint etc.
My room is a bit cooler today so been able to catch up with some correspondence and some collaging.
Hazel says there are too many distractions in the garden - the birds especially who gather round the seed feeders and fat balls.Also the thrush that uses the crazy paving to whack snails on to crack open the shells for the tasty morsel within. She sits at her workbench and is entranced by their antics and forgets about her work. Great to see Andy Sykes doing well and had lots of his very funny animations on BBC 2 late last night which I taped, as part of the Homegrown Hollywood series on every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night from 2 a.m. until 6. You can find his films HERE
Time for some music.


Ernest Butcher - Peaceful Street

Jack Hodges - Everything's Fresh Today

These You Send It files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

Keep Cool!

afoodie
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

Wear a melon slice on your head. Don't forget your five portions of fruit and veg. Very important to drink lots of water in this hot weather. I must have drunk a gallon of it yesterday!
Phew! Summer really is here with a vengeance. Why do people go to Greece and Spain and these really hot countries for their holidays? They must be mad!
This collage is for the latest theme of FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD at Collage Kids at Flickr.
I was listening to Mark Lamaar's great rock 'n' roll show on Radio 2 the other night and heard this great song-


Lord Sundance - Pretty Lord Sundance

This You Send It file is available for seven days or until exhausted.

Cheshire Steam Fair

Cheshire Steam Fair
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

We went to Tabley Hall today to the annual Cheshire Steam fair which we missed last year for some reason but we went the year before and it was great. It was just as good this year but very hot so didn't stay as long as we'd like.
Lots of traction engines like the one's here- getting up a head of steam and belching black acrid smoke everywhere. It was like going back in time. Some great rides including a steam driven "galloper" or a roundabout with horses on poles that move up and down. it also had a mechanical pipe organ at the centre which played "The Galloping Major" and other equestrian hits. The most exciting thing though was the "Wall of Death" which we'd seen before and so keen to see again as it was so thrilling to see the bikes whizz round the inside of this big wooden barrel shaped tented structure which swayed and vibrated with all the noise and adrenalin! It was amazing to see.
We had a nice picnic under a shadey tree but the grass was covered in sheeps doings so we didnt stop long!
There was an auto-jumble too with stalls selling all manner of car parts and tools etc. Hazel bought some copper sheeting to add to her supply of materials for making her gadgets and metalworks etc. Archie found some old Beanos, so he was happy.
The car was like an oven by the time we got back to it around 2.30 and we had to open the doors and windows and let it cool down for 5 minutes before we dared get inside- even then it was like climbing into a newly fired kiln!


Hazel and Archie waiting for the fun to begin at the Wall of Death.

That sinking feeling.

old card games
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

Hazel spent a lot of time inthe garden today as the sun came out! Hooray! After yesterday's depressing news of the bombings we needed a bit of sun to cheer us up. Hazel chopped lots of wood that had been piling up and then we lifted the old butlers sink back into the workshop for trimming - Hazel thumped great chunks of the concrete that still adhered to the bottom and the ceramic bricks that hold it up. It was pretty heavy so struggled a bit, but eventually we got it into place. Hoping that gravity will hold it there instead of cement!
Archie went to Chester Zoo again but this time with his school on a coach. He seemed to enjoy it which was good as he tends to dislike trips for some reason. He came back with presents for us both- badges and a bar of zoo chocolate which we ate with our afternoon tea and walnut cake.
I have been neglecting this blog for a few days as just started another with Swapatarium and Art Nahpro so kept busy making collages for it. Also clearing out the shed where we found these old card games amongst other things. A car boot load went to the tip and another to the charity shop. You can actually get into the shed now and sort through the tools and open cupboards, which you couldnt do before, eveything was jam packed in there.
Anyway, heres another couple of songs from the old days of music hall and variety as i haven't found much in the boot sales lately.


Gracie Fields - You Can't Catch Flies By Scratching Them

Tommy Handley - Have You Seen My Chickens?

These You Send It files are availble for seven days or until exhausted.

Boot sale fun in the sun.

acelebrityouttahere
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

Two boot sales today. the first was at Verdin Park where the Fun fair is (Hazel and Archie went yesterday after the carnival parade). Lots of stalls and some bargains to be had like the pile of DVD extra discs for 50p each. Also some full length films including the Cohen Bros. "The Man Who Wasn't There" which I'd seen before but it baffled me so much I'd like to see it again to try and make more sense of it! I love Cohen Bros. films generally but this is an odd one. Also got "5 Hour Photo" and "Johnny English" which is supposed to be awful but quite like to make my own mind up.
Hazel got a coin that turns into a multi-bladed knife thingy( I expect it will turn up on her BLOG soon! Archie got some Simpsons comics. Then quickly to another in Hartford which was quieter and not much bargainwise. Hazel rushed home for a drink then off to take her Mom and sister before they started to pack up for the day.
Hazel is outside in the back garden, rummaging through the second shed contents to take to the tip tomorrow. She wants to see if the furniture in there (buried under all the junk) is worthy of her new workshop space.
Archie has gone upstairs to read. He is on the penultimate book of some trilogy or other which I forget the name of involving trolls, elves, goblins etc. It's good to see him reading so much. Hopefully it will help his terrible spelling.
Time for some music? What shall we have today? No records from the boot sale so will dip into the archive again.


Ray Noble & His Orch. - Haunted House

Billy Cotton Band - I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts

The You Send It files will be available for seven days or until exhausted.

A boy and his bike.

Here's Archie on his bike, ready for the off. This was taken last year as you can see the old shed still crumbling in the background.
Hazel is back from her London jaunt with some posh new jeans and some earrings by a famous maker from the Crafts Council shop but I've forgotten who. She'd also bough that excellent big catalogue from the Prinzhorn collection of psychotic art that was shown at the Hayward Gallery some years ago and she's always wanted a copy. They had them for half price at the Hayward shop. Some wonderful illustrations in it. She had gifts for us too including a lovely Edward Gorey children's book for Archie about a maggot and a roll of skeleton sticky tape for me.
She popped round to see Jane & Graham who both looked well she said and had just come back from Greece. Cooper's was shutting but managed to grab a few words with Cheryl before she went home.
Hopefully we can get down to London before the end of the Summer to see our friends and family and the Rebecca Horn exhibition at the Hayward that is very good Hazel said.

Here's a couple of jolly songs from the heyday of British music hall and variety between the wars.

Leslie Holmes - I've Gone and Lost My Little Yo Yo

Charlie Higgins - Charlie's Saxaphone

The You Send It files will last seven days or until exhausted.

Testing the new photo button

Here's a photo of Archie dressed as a kind of Viking dwarf. Perhaps a role in the new spin off series from Lord of The Things?
I've just noticed they have a spell check on here too! Is that new or has it always been here? Very useful for someone like me who is partially dyslexic.

Marbury Country Park

Marbury Country Park
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

No boot sales this Sunday so we went for a nice brisk walk over at Marbury as the weather was so great and ideal for a picnic by the canal. They had taken all the picnic tables away unfortunately to make way for the new footbridge which gives you access to more nature trails over at Neumann's Flashes and Carey Park and back to town if you wanted but we'd parked the car at Marbury so we had to go back for it.
We fed the ducks with our stale bread and were amused by parties of "twitchers" gabbing away about holidays and caravans etc. and missing the call of the greater spotted woodpecker ( Archie banging a stick on a tree stump).
Had our picnic on a tussock watching the narrow boats glide by with grumpy looking people steering them.
Managed to negotiate a herd of cows who were sat on the path we wanted to cross back to the car park. One had ingeniusly left a deposit high on the stile gate.
I walked into town this morning and got a card reader from the wily men at the camera shop who were determined to sell me stuff! It was useful though and can now transfer photos to computer using it.
I borrowed some Cd's from the library on the strength of their performanaces at the Glastonbury festival ( still lots on video i havent caught up with yet) I got Whites Stripes Elephant and the new CD by Razorlight who also impressed me. Archie is learning "Seven Nation Army" on the guitar so will be pleased to hear the original. Also enjoyed a band called "Athlete" who I'd not heard before.
Another gorgeous day here with dazzling sunshine and temps. up into the high 60's.




On sundays we'd usually be at boot sales like this one at Weaverham High School. This is especially for Tim who asked to see what an english boot sale was like. Hazel and Archie are watching a rather chubby lady struggling with a music stand they bought.Not a very flattering view really.
Just though I'd mention the anti-biotics which differ slightly from the last few lots by having the warning on the packet which says Avoid skin exposure to sunlight which makes me think if I should avoid water and eating after midnight too incase i should turn into a Gremlin!

Weakend shopping.

Tom Dawson - One man band
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

Walked into town this morning to get photos which were mostly very dull. They exchanged the memory card for another but that doesnt seem to work either despite seeing the photos on my camera. The Vivitar helpline website wasn't much help- they suggest investing in a memory card reader which will add another ten quid to the cost of my camera and no guarentee that it will work either! Beginning to think i bought the wrong camera which is a shame as I was just learning all its little tricks and getting used to it.
Not many other buys to cheer me up. Got a Steptoe and Son video but Archie says we have it already.
Hazel is slug hunting in the front room. One of the little blighters gets in somehow and leaves shiny trails all over the rugs. She thinks he's getting in through a tiny gap in the floorboards where it meets the tiles of the hearth, so she has plugged it with some grouting. Hopefully that will stop them.
Just been watching recording of Glastonbury fest. from last night. It looked very muddy and was glad I was watching from the comfort of our settee! No real highlights , though enjoyed bits of White Stripes and the Doves.

A Quosiene of Smant

A Quosiene of Smant
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

Cutting up old book covers can be very illuminating. This was a book of book covers infact from the market for a quid, so no real damage done. I think I've improved them slightly. Lots more at Flickr.
I'm not very good at URLs' so this is probably wrong!
Back from the doc's with more anti-biotics! He's suggested a scan too- more to put my mind at rest than anything he said as he's positive the problem is viral and nothing serious. Hope he's right.
Archie took the ingrediants for a macaroni cheese into school this morning for "Food tech." He had lost his recipe list so I had to guess the ammounts. Far too much for the tiny ovenware dish he took to cook it in!
I took my dodgy memory card into town yesterday and they put the 29 photos on a CD and will print them. Hopefully the card will work after it's been formatted- if not they promised to exchange it for a similar brand.
Quite a heavy downpour this morning- just what the garden needs.

Beatles Celebrate National Pan Day

Beatles Celebrate National Pan Day
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

What a coincidence! National Pan Day falls on my birthday this year. I didnt get any pans but some nice cards and presents including a new memory card which i can't seem to upload from for some reason? I'll have to take it too the photography shop in town and get it sorted. I pushed the little tab too but nothing seems to happen. Maybe I needed to format it first. Now they tell me! I took 30+ photos too yesterday on my birthday in Manchester looking around the degree shows with Hazel and Archie ( who got the day off school for educational research) . It was very hot traipsing round all the shows but we managed to see most things. Interactive Arts was by far the most interesting and it was nice to put faces to those names that Hazel has mentioned over the last few months. Archie was particularly wanting to see the animation department show reel but it was very disapointing and hardly any animation on it atall! His favourite was some flash animation a girl in Interactive Arts had made using some very catchy brit-pop type soundtracks by local Manchester bands I think ( and one from Bali!).
Had a nice pizza and salad in the canteen for lunch and traipsed some more. It was nice to get home to our lovely cool house and collapse.


Peter Sellers - Dance With Me Henry

Peter Sellers - Dipso Calypso

These You Send It files will be available for seven days or until exhausted.

The wrong time and the wrong place.

Beatles at Halloween
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

This is today's theme and so we have the Beatles at halloween - a collage for the Flickr group about the fab four. Also, instead of songs about Liverpool or Halloween we have songs about Gloucester and about Cheese and Wintertime! I found these two gems amongst others on a compilation tape called "A Souvenir From the West Country" I found in a charity shop yesterday for 50p. It also has songs by Adge Cutler and the Wurzels, Acker Bilk and Peter Dawson & the Band of the Royal Marines. Other bargains included a CD of someone reading the story of Alice Behind the Looking Glass (or is it "Beyond"?) Also bought a memory card for my digital camera so Hazel can wrap it up for my birthday (next Monday- hint hint!) so will be nice to be able to take lots of pictures and not worry about whether I can fit them all on or not.
Anyway, here's a song about winter followed by one about cheese.

Shag Connors & the Carrot Crunchers - Wintertime In Gloucester


Shag Connors & the Carrot Crunchers - Gloucester Cheese

These You Send It files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

Flaming June!

anearlycollage71
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

I seem to remember saying the same thing in my blog last year! It's very wet and windy outside and feels more like November!
To cheer us up here is a couple of exotic songs from a Betty Grable musical of 1942 set in Hawaii. I never thought of Betty as a singer but she has a good voice to go with those famous legs of hers!

Betty Grable - Down On Ami Ami Oni Oni Isle


Betty Grable - O'Brien has Gone Hawaiian

These You Send It files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

A Squirrel & His Nuts

A Squirrel & His Nuts
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

Went to Weaverham to a boot sale but found only one sad solitary stall so we drove over to Anderton where luckliy another was in full swing. Quite few stalls too and so had fun rooting through boxes of records and junk but didnt find much. I bought two DVD's for a quid each, Monsters Inc. and Into The Arms of Strangers(the Story Of Kindertransport) which won the best documentary at the 2000 Oscars apparently.
Hazel got a watch chain and some 1962 Bimbo comics that she used to get as a child. Archie got some "Horrible Histories" books that he's collecting.
After lunch we took the worktable which the computer has been on outside to the new workshop. Using a small fold up card table temporarily, which isn't ideal as I can just about get my knees under it!
Archie has gone out with his remote control car and came back with a pot of flowers from the neighbours who have just returend from the Lake District. Hazel and Archie fed their rabbit and guinea-pig whilst they were away and the flowers were a thankyou (Archie got some Lakeland icecream).
Today's musical treat is two songs by Captain Matchbox - a goodtime jugband from Australia who I know nothing about.

Capt. Matchbox - Hotsy Totsy


Capt. Matchbox - Down Undergroundville

These You Send It files are only availabel for seven days or until exhausted.

25 years of Fluff.

Hazel and archive.
Originally uploaded by wastedpapiers.

Here's Hazel sorting through a box of collage material and surroounded by the 25 years accumulation of mail art and correspondence we seem to have collected. Storing it has become a bit of a problem and until recently it was in saggy cardboard boxes that were damp and nibbled by mice! Now all has been transferred to plastic boxes with tight fitting lids and stored in the old coal shed, which is not ideal but the only place we have right now.
This morning I walked into town and back and did the usual round of charity shops, market, library and post office etc. I found Hazel an interesting gadget for her collection - a runner bean slicer that looks like it was designed by Heath Robinson - in it's original packaging too. Also a comedy called "Best of Show" on video that I'd never heard of but made by the same people who made Spinal Tap, one of my favourite films.
I seem to have been neglecting the music side of things here for a while- taken over by silly small films and the like- so here is a couple of tracks by an Australian version of The Singing Postman called Chad Morgan.

Chad Morgan - The Sheik of Scrubby Creek


Chad Morgan - The Crow Flying Backwards

These You Send It files are available for seven days or until exhausted.