The Plastic Mancunian

Plastic Factoids

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:57:00 +0000

Welcome to a sunny spring day in South Manchester. Winter is still fighting though as I discovered on a walk on Thursday. Thankfully I was prepared for the worst because the weather forecast said “there may be rain”.

Let me tell you what I experienced.

It was sunny for the first ten minutes and then suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, the heavens opened and decided to hurl down hail. Not content with that, the wind picked up and threatened to destroy my brolly and even me. Ten minutes later, the hail turned to a deluge of rain and even though I had a coat and a terrified umbrella with me, it didn’t stop my jeans from getting drenched. And so it went on for the next six miles with freezing cold temperatures. That is, until two minutes from home, when the clouds disappeared and the sun came out raising the temperature again. I was in the house again remarking to Mrs PM that the weather was nice now, only to be proven wrong immediately as I looked out of the window and saw that the sun had vanished to be replaced by snow!

Such is spring in Manchester.

In other news, I was disheartened to hear that Chuck Norris has passed away. While he wasn’t the world’s greatest actor, I recall laughing at how dreadful “Walker, Texas Ranger” was, marvelling at the fight scene between him and Bruce Lee in “The Way of the Dragon”. More recently, I remember laughing loudly at the Chuck Norris jokes that flooded the internet for a long time. I even wrote a blog post it:

Chuck Norris v Mr T

He even lampooned himself in Expendables 2 – enjoy the punchline:

Rest in Peace Chuck.

Shall we answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing?

1. Is your phone Apple or Android? What about your laptop?

I used to have an iPod but when that died, so did my association with Apple.

My phone is Android because there is a lot more choice out there and I find them superior to iPhones. In fact in my experience, a lot of guys who work in IT prefer Android. I’m not saying that iPhones are bad; technically they are very good and of course led the wayat the dawn of the smartphone. I just think they are overpriced and not as good as Android phones. That’s my own personal opinion.

I have a Dell laptop running Windows 11. Bizarrely, I’ve heard good things about Mac laptops but in this case, I have always worked with Microsoft, making it easier to just hit the ground running when I have to get a new one.

2. Can you say "thank you" in more than one language?

Yes, I can. I can say “Thank you” in English, French (“Merci”), German (“Danke”), Spanish (“Gracias”), Russian (“Спасибо” pronounced “spasibo”), Portuguese (“obrigado”), Dutch (“Bedankt”), Mandarin (“謝謝”, pronounced “Xiexie”) and Japanese (“ありがとう” pronounced “Arigato”).

This doesn’t make me a total polyglot because apart from English, I can barely make myself understood in French, German and Spanish and struggle when people speak back to me. Some people say that I can barely speak English.

3. What do you draw when you doodle?

I don’t doodle now but I used to when I was working, particularly in tedious meetings, where doodling helped me to stay awake as the bullshit flowed around.

What did I draw?

I would either try to draw a man’s face and, if the meeting was particularly soul-destroying, that man would evolve into a vampire.

I would also occasionally draw cubes and cuboids, shading them in or trying to combine them into elaborate sculptures.

Before I finish, I have to say that I am terrible at drawing and if you were to see anything I attempted you would say something like “that’s good for a three-year old” or “wow – that chimp can actually vaguely draw!”.

4. Which do you enjoy more, Scrabble or bowling?

I assume you mean tenpin bowling as opposed to crown green bowling.

Either way, that’s a tough one. I am not very good at either type of bowling. I am also not very good at Scrabble.

On reflection, I would say that I probably enjoy Scrabble first, then tenpin bowling then crown green bowling. But I enjoy them all.

5. Can you juggle?

I can only juggle my hobbies in retirement. As for juggling balls and skittles, absolutely no chance. My hand/eye coordination is non-existent when it comes to such things.

6. Have you ever worn pyjamas in public?

Why would I ever even consider doing that?

7. Was your best subject in school the one you enjoyed the most?

That would be maths (dearest American readers – note the “s”). I seem to be quite gifted when it comes to all things mathematical and I flew through my “O-level”, “AO-Level” and “A-Level” passing all three of them with the top grade (in the UK that is an “A”).

At university, I had to take several maths courses as part of my Computational and Statistical Science degree and that is when I started to find it tricky. Because I entered university with such good exam results, they put me in with the top mathematics graduates and I found it very taxing (although I still managed to pass the exams). Thankfully in my final year, I managed to ditch all mathematics modules to concentrate on the Computer Science and Statistics exams.

Before then, at school, I was such a nerd that I used to do past exam papers for fun.

WHAT A GEEK I WAS (and probably still am).

8. When you're offered the senior discount before you ask for it, are you offended or grateful?

I have never been offered a senior discount before asking for it, even though I am in some cases a senior. In the UK, my pension age is 67 so I won’t get the state pension until then (I have about three and a half years to wait). But such is the weirdness of the UK sometimes, that I can often get a discount for being over 60.

The big problem is that I don’t actually look my age and people look at me and question how old I really am. I have suffered this from the age of 18 when I wanted to buy a beer or get into an 18 certificate movie (rated R in the US) but was refused. Back then we didn’t have official ID cards (we still don’t - I use my driver's licence) so I was wrongly refused – even when I was as old as my early 20’s. I didn’t learn to drive until I was 23 so as soon as I got my driver’s license things changed.

The last time I was asked my age in a pub was when I was 30 years old. The barmaid, who was clearly younger than me, said “I think you are over 18 but I just thought I would check. Are you over 18?” I laughed and said “Yes! I’m 30!”. “OH MY GOD!” she said, laughing. “You’re way older than I am.”

These days, I have my driver’s license with me all the time so I can get discount tickets for things like the cinema quite easily. I really should ask Mr Google or Mr ChatGPT to find out what I can actually get a discount for. I might save money.

9. Do you agree that with age comes wisdom?

Absolutely. The reason is that we all learn from our mistakes and I have made so many in my life that I have lost count of them. This puts me (and others like me) in the enviable position that I can judge situations based on earlier mistakes I have made and advise youngsters based on my own experience and things I have struggled with.

I still make mistakes and I am still learning so it is an ongoing process even at my age.

10. Do you consider Sunday the first day of the week or the last day of the weekend?

When I was working, I considered Sunday as the last day of the weekend because, for me, the week started in anger on Monday.

Now that I have retired, every day is like Saturday, so I am happy to consider Sunday to be the first Saturday of the week.

Bonkers

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:34:00 +0000

I like a lot of songs but some of them are what I would describe as bonkers.

I do appreciate that “bonkers” is in the eye of the beholder and while some people may think that a song is bonkers, it doesn’t necessarily follow that all people will think that the song is bonkers; some people may even say that it is a masterpiece.

I thought that I would share ten songs that I love (in no particular order), but that I feel are bonkers. If you feel that these songs are masterpieces then that’s totally up to you.

1. Godley and Creme – Snack Attack!

Kevin Godley and Lol Creme used to be in a Manchester based band called 10cc who, in their own way produced some slightly eccentric songs. Godley and Creme struck out on their own in the late 1970s and had great success with an album called “Ismism”, featuring a massive hit song in the UK called "Under Your Thumb". However, on the same album there are a couple of songs that I would call bonkers and the one that stands out is “Snack Attack”.

It is supposedly sung by a man who is so enormous that the doctors wired his jaws together so that he can’t eat huge quantities of food and who is singing about his struggles with his desire to eat.

The lyrics are really silly and hilarious.

Here are some of my favourites:

I can’t eat no more – I gotta use a straw.

…

Armies of food invade my sleep

Led by lasagnas ten inches deep

My head is pounding my heart is beating

Cows are mooing sheep are bleating

I'm being haunted by all the meat I've eaten

2. The Mute Gods – Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth

Nick Beggs is a rather eccentric person and was the bass player in Kajagoogoo who had a massive hit in the early 1980’s. He has done a lot of work since then, notably (for me at least) working with one of my favourite artists – Steven Wilson.

A few years ago he formed a band called The Mute Gods, a prog rock band that had three albums. This song is the title track of the second album and has a great title.

In case you are wondering, tardigrades are microscopic creatures that are supposed to be very resilient even surviving exposure to space, thus prompting the premise of this song that these tiny creatures will survive when humankind has annihilated all life on the planet.

A Tardigrade

While the song may have a serious message, it is a very silly song with a very silly video that is typical of Nick Beggs’ eccentricity.

3. Whale – Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe

Whale were a Swedish band active for most of the 1990’s and this is the only song that I have heard by the band. But what a bonkers belter it is. A “slobo babe” is meant to be a Chelsea girl – or maybe not. Either way, this song is crazy – in my eyes at least.

I have absolutely no idea what the song is about. Perhaps somebody could shed some light on it.

4. Electric Six – Danger! High Voltage

Electric Six have a couple of mad songs but this one is absolutely bonkers. The video adds to its bonkers nature (I think it is hilarious) and the whole thing makes little sense to me – apart from the raunchy nature of it all. I love the mad lyrics too:

Fire in the disco

Fire in the Taco Bell

Fire in the disco

Fire in the gates of hell

5. Thomas Dolby – Hyperactive!

Thomas Dolby had a big hit with this song in 1984 and I was drawn to it because it is a mad song. I loved it at the time and I still love it now. Why? Because I think it’s bonkers.

6. David Bowie – The Jean Genie

This may seem like a normal song at first but if you listen to the lyrics you will discover that they are truly bonkers. Here are a few examples:

A small Jean Genie snuck off to the city

Strung out on lasers and slash back plazas

Ate all your razors while pulling the waiters

Talking 'bout Monroe and walking on Snow White

New York's a go-go and everything tastes right

Poor little Greenie

. . .

Sits like a man, but he smiles like a reptile

She loves him, she loves him, but just for a short while

She'll scratch in the sand, won't let go his hand

He says he's a beautician and sells you nutrition

And keeps all your dead hair for making up underwear

Poor little Greenie

This song goes down in history as the very first song I heard by David Bowie, so as well as being bonkers it is also a very special one to me.

7. Focus – Hocus Pocus

Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band who were very big in the 1970’s. They are apparently still going strong. But back in the 1970’s they had a couple of big hits in the UK, one of which is "Hocus Pocus" and shows the band at their most eccentric. The keyboard player is called Thijs van Leer and he is responsible for the bonkers vocal interventions between the musical interludes which include yodelling and whistling as well as one flute interlude. I love the song but I think it is bonkers. And "Hocus Pocus by Focus" has a nice ring to it.

8. Devin Townsend – Bad Devil

I am a huge fan of Devin Townsend and he writes some great songs – and some weird ones too. One of my favourite of his weird songs is “Bad Devil”. As well as being truly bonkers, it is a really fun song that moves around various genres all in the space of about four minutes.

Bad Devil

Bad Double-Decker Devil

9. Rammstein – Te Quiero Puta!

Rammstein are a German industrial metal band who sing almost exclusively in the native language, apart from the odd song in English, French and, in this case, Spanish. Who knows why they decided to produce a mariarchi style song sung entirely in Spanish? It is not their typical style at all.

They are famous in Germany for having very dodgy lyrics in their own language and this song is no exception. If you understand Spanish (and I do understand a fair amount) you will know what this means (and perhaps should be wary of listening to the words). Still, it is totally bonkers.

10. Tenacious D – Master Exploder

Jack Black’s band is famous for crazy songs (take "Tribute" as an example). However, I think that “Master Exploder” is the craziest as you will see from the video below.

Warning, it is funny, a bit gruesome, rude and contains swearing – and, of course, it is completely bonkers.

Teenage Wildlife

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 16:24:00 +0000

Welcome to a sunny and warm spring day in South Manchester. It looks like we have dismissed winter for another few months, although typically, particularly in the UK, it can come back just to nip us on the arse occasionally.

It must be getting warmer because the cricket season starts in a couple of weeks and I will be popping to Old Trafford to watch a few games this season as long as the weather is good enough that is.

Let’s answer some silly Sunday Stealing questions about adolescence. I have to say that this time of my life was particularly hormonal and as such I became a bit of an arse before I finally started to grow up. You could argue that I am still growing up in my 60’s – it’s a long process for me.

Have you ever:

1. Skipped school?

No. I was a cheeky little bugger but I was quite studious and conscientious; I wanted the best grades possible. The school I went to was a grammar school which put a lot of emphasis on succeeding academically with the ultimate goal to be to attend university and fly off into the sunset with a great career with great qualifications. While I used to arrogantly question the teachers and act like an immature little monster, they somehow managed to convince me that academic achievement was something that I needed to pursue. That means that I never even considered playing truant.

2. Lettered in a school sport?

I had to look this up. I have never heard of “lettering in a school sport” and Mr Google informed me that it is an Americanism that means that you have excelled so much in a sport that you have a letter on your jacket to display as a sort of award. This actually explains a lot to me in that I never realized the significance of having a jacket like this:

I have seen them but usually only in American “teen” movies. You live and learn.

We don’t have such things in the UK and to be honest I wasn’t good enough at sport to have achieved such a dubious accolade. I did make the school sports team for cross country running, which involves a race over rough terrain such as fields, roads and woodland for a middle distance of about five miles on average. I hated it because you had to run in the coldest parts of winter. I failed at rugby because I was too small and I failed at cricket because I was hit in the face by a cricket ball and it made me very nervous about participating. I did play other sports but for fun more than achievement.

3. Made a prank phone call?

Oh yes. We called up one of my teachers once pretending to be meals on wheels and it was working until my mate screamed out my name. The teacher never said anything but I am sure that he started picking on me more afterwards. We also called taxis for people once or twice.

4. Paid for a meal with coins?

Not a meal but a pint of beer. When I was a student in Liverpool, I had a jar where I stored all of my spare change, and one day I worked out that I had a few quid in there – enough to buy a couple of pints at the local pub. Sadly, when I counted out the cost of the pint in 1p and 2p coins, the barman told me that he would accept it this time but not again. I was tempted to question his judgement until I realised that I was surrounded by a lot of local people who were already annoyed at this spotty little bespectacled student.

I never did it again.

5. Laughed until some sort of beverage came out of your nose?

Oh yes – several times as both a child and an adult. The last time it happened was when somebody told a joke in the office and I had a mouth full of tea, which I managed to eject from my mouth and nose all over my desk, onto my keyboard and all over my notebook. It was unpleasant but I couldn’t stop laughing. And the worst thing was that the joke wasn’t even that funny – it just caught me unawares.

Top Ten Status Quo Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 15:24:00 +0000

Have you ever heard of a rock band called Status Quo?

This band is almost exactly as old as I am, being formed in London in the year that I was born. They are actually still making music but the line up has changed with only Francis Rossi being the only constant member of the band.

From the late 1960's to the late 1980’s they constantly had singles in the UK charts. In the UK, we had a show called “Top of the Pops”, which had acts who were currently riding high in the charts and gave us the top 40 countdown every week. Many really famous artists have appeared on this show but the band that has the record number of appearances is Status Quo.

They have played in front of King Charles III (when he was Prince Charles) and in July 1985, they opened Live Aid at Wembley stadium. They also featured on the accompanying song “Do They Know It’s Christmas” as part of Band Aid. They are (or were) a big deal in the UK but as far as I know, they didn’t really make the transition to the United States.

I grew up with this band and from the age of about twelve until probably my thirtieth birthday, their music was a big part of my life.

In their early days, the 1960’s, they started off as a psychedelic band and evolved in the 1970’s into a sort of boogie rock band, with elements of hard rock occasionally. They were famous for dressing in denim and playing really catchy rock songs. They weren’t a heavy metal band at all and their music was much closer to pop music.

They have been prolific and have released a total of 33 albums, their last one in 2019. That’s quite astounding really. When it comes to singles, their last chart hit was in 2008.

I have only seen them live once but that was a memorable gig because they were supporting Queen at a huge concert at Knebworth Park in 1986 and this was Freddy Mercury’s last ever appearance on stage.

You can read about that gig here

There were 120,000 people there – and I was one of them. I loved Status Quo and Queen so this was a win/win for me.

While I was walking this morning, a Status Quo song popped up on my playlist and I thought it would be a good idea to post my favourite ten songs by the band. For those of you who have heard of the band (which will be most of the UK, some of Europe and possibly Australia) I hope this brings back memories of what a great band they are. If you are American, perhaps this serves as an overdue introduction to a British institution.

I hope you like the songs.

10. Paper Plane (from Piledriver 1972)

"Paper Plane" is one of the first songs by Status Quo that I heard and many will say that this is a quintessential song by the band. The bands detractors used to say that a lot of their songs sound very similar, a sentiment that I can see but don’t agree with. For me, I liked that boogie sound and while it is a theme, I think the band is much deeper than such critics imply. I was ten years old when this was released and it was one of the first times I was exposed to what you may broadly term “rock music”.

9. Down Down (from On the Level – 1975)

Status Quo had over 60 chart hits in the UK with 22 of them reaching the top ten. However "Down Down" was the only one that reached number 1, which is surprising considering their prolific output.

8. Don’t Drive My Car (from Just Supposin’ – 1980)

"Just Supposin’" is my favourite album by the band and this may be helped by it coinciding with a key part of my life. The album was released just after my eighteenth birthday and I was in my final year of school and just discovering the glory of beer. My best mate at the time owned a car and we used to listen to it non-stop when driving around. It brings back brilliant memories. I lost touch with him after university, sadly. And, no, he wouldn’t let me drive his car (I couldn’t drive to be fair).

7. Rain (from Blue for You – 1976)

When I first heard this, I thought the chorus was “I can’t live without Lorraine” and even now when I hear it, part of me wants to sing that lyric for fun. Of course, the lyrics are “I can’t live without the rain” and sometimes it pops up on my playlist as I walk around the rainy streets of Manchester. I don’t think that they had this in mind when they wrote it back in 1976.

6. Over the Edge (from Just Supposin’ – 1980)

The second song in the list from Just Supposin’ is one of two songs that weren’t singles. Personally, I think it should have been but then who am I to choose? I just love the song and it was a firm favourite of my old mate’s as we drove around in 1980 nodding our heads in time to the music with huge grins on our faces and singing “You’re driving me crazy!”

5. Livin’ on an Island (from Whatever You Want – 1979)

This song is not typical of the band at all, sacrificing that boogie rock sound for a more mellow rock ballad style. I think it’s quite beautiful actually and I occasionally listen to it when I’m sitting on my own on a beach watching the sea. The guy singing the song is Rick Parfitt, one of the founder members of the band who sadly passed away in 2016. Rest in peace Rick.

4. Roll Over Lay Down (from Hello – 1973)

I love this song and after mentioning Rick Parfitt already it is only fair to mention Francis Rossi, the guy singing this one. He is the only person remaining from the original band and is still going strong at the tender age of 76.

3. Mystery Song (from Blue for You – 1973)

If you listen to the lyrics this song isn’t a mystery at all. It is about a young man’s encounter with a “lady of the night”, which is probably why they decided to name it in the vague way that they did without it getting banned. It didn’t get banned and despite the subject matter, it is a very good song.

2. Forty Five Hundred Times (from Hello – 1973)

Forty Five Hundred Times wasn’t a single. For one, it is too long, clocking in at almost ten minutes. It is probably the closest to a progressive rock song that the band ever came to. I first heard the song when Status Quo did a live show in front of Prince Charles in 1982 for the Princes Trust, which was broadcast on a radio programme I used to listen to called “The Friday Rock Show”. The live version was unbelievably brilliant because the band just let rip and had fun.

It is one of those songs that is just so much better live. Sadly, I can’t find the version from NEC but here is a version from two years later in Milton Keynes, which shows them having great fun playing a version that clocks in at 17 minutes and having tremendous fun in front of a huge crowd.

1. What You’re Proposin’ (from Just Supposin’ – 1980)

This is a very simple song and the reason it is my favourite is because it reminds me of when I was 18 years old. A lot happened that year and this song was played absolutely everywhere. The mate I mentioned above always used to put this song on the jukebox when we walked into a pub called The New Inn in Walsall town centre on a Saturday night. It has a special meaning to me and is one of those time machine songs, i.e. when I hear it, I am immediately taken back to the New Inn. Sadly that pub doesn’t exist anymore – apart from in my mind with this song as a soundtrack to me drinking half a pint of lager and lime.

The Best of the Best of the Best

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 16:26:00 +0000

I’ve been reading a book that I found in our joint Kindle library called “Quiet” by Susan Cain, which is about introverts and how powerful they can be. It perked my interest because a large part of me is introverted. I have written a post about this:

Inside My Head

I wouldn’t say that I am fully introverted because, as the post above says, there is an extrovert inside of me. Apparently this makes me an ambivert – somebody who loves being the centre of attention sometimes but also craves isolation. I would say that I am more of an introvert (probably about 70%) and the book above kind of confirms that. It’s a very interesting read and I can see myself in it.

The writer of the book claims that the world has become driven by extroverts and, being an introvert herself, finds it a challenge to thrive in such a world. The whole point of the book is to shine a light on what makes a person an introvert and how such a person can succeed and flourish. It's too late for me because I have retired and am very happy now that I don’t have to unleash the extrovert into the corporate world when required (even though I often did).

Do we live in a world driven by extroverts?

I am not so sure. I do believe that America in particular is more of an an extrovert-driven country but I’m not so sure about the rest of the world. I have worked and visited many and varied countries both as a tourist and as a worker and the corporate environment is not the same as it is in America.

I have also been to the United States both as a tourist and as part of my job and I have witnessed this trend myself. I don’t want to generalise but a lot of corporate Americans that crossed my path seem to be extroverts who love to be the centre of attention. As a tourist, I got this too. Here is an example.

I found myself in a theatre somewhere watching a hypnotist. I had seen a hypnotist in the UK and when he asked for volunteers from the audience, the majority of people were very reluctant to do so, with most, including me, trying to shrink in their chair, hoping it would swallow me up. Eventually the hypnotist ended up picking on people, that is, almost pleading with them to volunteer. In America, I found myself on the front row and having seen the hypnotist in the UK, was dreading the fact that he might see me and invite me on stage to humiliate myself. Worse, he might detect that I am English and that would be that. He walked out on stage and started his act and then looked at the audience. I swear that he was looking at me, directly in the eye, as the words came out of his mouth.

“Can I have some volunteers from the audience please?”

I didn’t have to worry.

Hundreds of arms shot up, and people started clapping and cheering and whooping in the way that Americans do. Many were disappointed. I was relieved.

The guy behind me was very upset because he wasn’t picked.

“AM I INVISIBLE?” he yelled at anyone who was willing to listen, his disgust plain for all to see. His words fell on deaf ears because there were other people complaining too.

I am sceptical about hypnosis and when the hypnotist convinced a guy that he was Michael Jackson and a woman that she was Madonna, I didn’t believe it. To me these people were seeking attention and when he got them to sing a “duet” before snapping his fingers and releasing them from their trances, I almost laughed – not at the fact that their attempts were funny; I thought they weren’t hypnotised at all and simply wanted to show off. And it worked because both of them loved the rapturous applause they received, with the guy even bowing as if he were a rock star.

When I was working in Atlanta, the people were all very friendly and I even got my own little cube to work in. My aim was to perform a critical upgrade of the operating system and database and all I wanted was to let the introvert take over and settle down and get on with my job undisturbed. That couldn’t happen in America. Loads of people popped into my cube and introduced themselves. Some wanted to talk to the British person, others were just adding me to their already massive social circle by inviting me for lunch or even dinner. It was easy for me because I am British and as such, they were fascinated by my European and British heritage as well as my accent. The extrovert took over a lot more than I expected him to. In fact, on a separate occasion, I had to give a course there and I dreaded that because I am afraid of public speaking and in a country where public speaking seems to be a corporate requirement (certainly in my experience), I figured that the job would be so much more difficult.

You can read about that here:

Fear (Part Three) – Public Speaking

I know that I am wrong in my generalisation that Americans are all extroverts. Clearly they are not. I have met many introverts on my travels over there. However, I am aware that self-improvement is something that was born across the pond and I think there is an expectation to be the best of the best – as illustrated in this clip:

In fact, Susan Cain’s book introduces a real live motivational speaker called Tony Robbins, who claims that everybody has a sleeping giant within, a powerful alter-ego that can take over and make you evolve into that person by focussing on the right things and “unleashing your power”. He plays in front of huge crowds and here is a taster of what you would get if you were to attend one of his events:

We don’t get many people like that in the UK, nor, in my experience at least, in the rest of the world. I’m not saying that Tony Robbins isn’t good at what he does at all. Helping people to find inner strength is a laudable quality. It’s just the whole showbusiness aspect of it I am highlighting. In the book Susan Cain says that she attended one of his events and, as an introvert, felt way out of her comfort zone. Tony Robbins was bouncing around the stage like the rampant extrovert he is, and he had his audience captivated and screaming and whooping in the way that only Americans do. It was more like a rock concert than a motivational therapy session.

While this concept exists in the UK, we are more laid back and much less likely to be taken in by desire to be the best of the best. Some people are, don’t get me wrong, but over here we are a reserved bunch who laugh and make fun of such things. I have worked with Mr Motivation (or Mr Motivator), an old nemesis of mine, who demands that I try to be the best of the best. You can read about him here:

The Art of Underachievement

Every acolyte of Mr Motivation I have met is an extrovert. Introverts like me can succeed and climb the corporate ladder but we do it in our own way. The conversation I had in the above post is based on a real one where I told this particular Mr Motivation that in the end that you should play to your strengths, and, as I hope that Susan Cain concludes by the time that I have finished her book, it is absolutely fine to be an introvert with different desires and ways of working. You will succeed in your own way even if you are an introvert and don’t want to spend all your time looking for power and influence in an extrovert-driven existence.

You don’t have to be the best of the best of the best. Nevertheless, as an introvert, you still can be if you so desire.

Plastic Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 16:39:00 +0000

Welcome to a wet and miserable South Manchester where the rain is drizzling down and making my cats wet. You may think this is funny but it isn’t. Off they go outside through the cat flap and spend their time wandering around getting soaked before having a dig in soil and then coming back in, leaving a trail of dirty footprints on the kitchen floor, the windowsills and, arguably worst of all, the clean trousers that I put on this morning. To add insult to dirt, they shake like a dog to let me know how it feels to be outside at the moment.

The good news this week is that my favourite band of all time, the Canadian band Rush, have extended their tour to include Europe and, in particular, Manchester where they will be playing at the brand new Co-op Arena. There will be a post about Rush coming soon (if you are interested) but the great news is that I managed to get a ticket despite the gig being pretty close to being sold out. Such is their popularity that they have added a second date in Manchester. I have to wait until next year but I already know it will be one of the gigs of 2027 for me.

Let’s dive into a silly Sunday Stealing survey.

Silly Survey Questions …

1. Did you/will you have coffee or some other form of caffeine today?

I will have a cup of decaffeinated coffee later today. I stopped drinking caffeine around 2016 after I realized the effect it had on me. My boss asked me to come in early one Friday to fix something and because I succeeded he decided to reward me with several large mugs of what I can only describe as a nuclear caffeine bomb. I have to say that it tasted delightful but a couple of hours later I was so wired that I didn’t know what to do with myself at all. I’ve heard of the phrase “climbing the walls” but I was more like Spider-man; I honestly thought I could walk on the ceiling. I can’t imagine what I was like to talk to. I decided to eliminate caffeine that very day and that includes in tea.

There are some places where the concept of decaffeinated coffee is as alien as Mork from Ork. A couple of years ago, I went to Amsterdam for a university reunion and at breakfast in a lovely café I asked the waiter for a decaffeinated coffee. He looked at me as if I had just grown a second head and, in a delightful Dutch accent he said “Decaffeinated coffee? We only have NORMAL coffee!”

I sometimes indulge in coffee made from decaffeinated coffee grounds when I want to treat myself and that brings back memories of decent coffee from my past.

I have to add finally that while I like coffee, I prefer tea (the decaffeinated variety).

2. Who did you last have a text conversation with and what was it about?

It was to my eldest son who was asking for my sister’s phone number so that he can invite her to a big party he is having later this year.

3. Are there regular trains in and out of your town/city?

There are hundreds of trains in and out of my city per day. Manchester has two enormous railway stations called Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly, as well as several smaller ones in the city centre. I can catch a direct train to most other UK major cities from there. For example, trains run to London two or three times and hour and it takes about two hours to travel the 200 miles between the cities.

The local light railway or trams, called Metrolink, also has a station at each railway station making it easy for most Mancunians to get to the stations from the suburbs and surrounding towns.

4. Have you ever been hospitalised due to dehydration?

I have never been hospitalised. I drink lots of fluids so I rarely get dehydrated.

5. Someone texts/IMs you just as you’re about to go to sleep. Do you reply?

It depends on who it is and whether it is urgent. I will ignore it unless it requires my immediate attention.

6. Do you grind your teeth?

No – but Mrs PM does. She has woken me up doing it in the past.

7. When you listen to music with headphones, do you keep the volume low enough to hear surrounding noise, or do you blast it?

It depends on where I am. I have a pair of earbuds and when I am out walking in the morning, I have it on a very low volume so that I can hear what is going on. However, if I am walking on a main road, I usually turn up the volume a little to lessen the impact of the engines of buses, cars and lorries. If ai am in a park I have the volume as low as possible.

On trains, trams and aircraft, I have the volume a little higher to lessen the impact of the engines of the vehicle I am travelling in.

In a car, I don’t use my earbuds.

8. Are you wearing nail polish?

Absolutely not. I have never worn it and I never will (unless for some crazy reason I decide to become a rock star or an actor in my old age – and even then I will only do it if I am paid a lot of money to do so).

9. Do you have an ice maker in your refrigerator door?

No, sadly. I think it would be a useful thing to have. Mrs PM’s dad has one and in the summer it is quite useful. We (or should I say Mrs PM) plan to have a new kitchen in a year or two so we may consider it then.

10. Do you have a friend named James?

Yes – I have several friends called James. One of my oldest friends, who I met at university, is called James but I haven’t seen him for about twenty years sadly. Closer to home I have an old workmate who I still keep in touch with called James.

Oddly both of them insist on being called James as opposed to Jim. I used to work with a guy called Jim and I used to call him “Jimbo” with the emphasis on the “BO”. Why? Because one of the first things he said to me was “Don’t call me Jimbo!”. It’s an unwritten law amongst a lot of blokes that if you react negatively to a name or a nickname then that name will stick. I discovered this to my own cost many years ago and occasionally I have to deal with old friends who still call me a nickname from a few years ago because I objected.

Word Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 21:45:00 +0000

Welcome to South Manchester where it has been absolutely throwing it down today in a way that is typical of my least favourite season. I can’t wait for winter to be over.

You may have heard about a royal scandal this week and, of course, it happens to involve Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the Andrew formally known as prince. He was arrested this week for allegedly releasing material to Jeffrey Epstein that he shouldn’t have and the picture of him looking totally distraught in the back of a police car has made headlines worldwide. The last time a member of the royal family was arrested was back in the 17th century and that man was King Charles I. While Andrew was in custody, police searched his homes for evidence and while he has been released, it’s not looking good for him.

The Epstein files are causing a lot of turbulence in the UK at the moment with this arrest and also the former UK Amabassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, has had to resign and give up his peerage. That is another chapter that will be reopened soon, I think.

It’s little wonder that in America, there is surprise and irritation that more is not being done over there because there will be far more people who will be more than a little concerned.

Anyway, enough of that. Let’s have some Sunday Stealing silliness.

Word Association. Share what comes to mind when you hear the word ...

1. Biscuit

Custard Creams

In the UK a biscuit is the equivalent of a US cookie. What Americans call a “Biscuit” is more like what we call a “scone”.

A custard cream is a variety of English biscuit that I used to love as a child. It is basically two small biscuits with a very sweet light yellow cream in the middle of them. They are still very popular today and I haven’t had one for years. I think the last time was when I used to work because people randomly used to bring in packets of biscuits for others. At home we rarely eat biscuits which is a good thing for my teeth and weight I guess.

Having said that, I might just treat myself to a packet when I go shopping this week.

2. Crayon

Wax

I haven’t used a crayon since I was a young child. We used to have wax crayons and use them to either colour pictures in a colouring book or just use them to draw stuff.

The second thing I thought of was “crayon eaters” and this is a term used to describe people who struggle to think for themselves and just gobble up rubbish that certain politicians tell them no matter how ridiculous it is and support these charlatans no matter what. For example people who love the Orange Goblin in the White House despite the fact that he blatantly lies and is a convicted felon.

3. Warmth

Cats

My cast, Ziggy and Star(dust), have the uncanny ability to find the warmest spot in the house. It’s usually a human hot water bottle, and they have two to choose from (me and Mrs PM). Star(dust) in particular will lie so close to my leg that Mrs PM says “She has become one with your leg”.

Both of them do it though as you can see from this picture.

4. Flip

Flop

When I say flip-flop I don’t mean those used in electrical circuits. I am talking about what Australians call “thongs”, which are very uncomfortable rubber sandals that people wear on beaches and in hot climates.

I hate wearing them because they irritate my toes. I prefer proper sandals.

Incidentally, in the UK, “thongs” are extremely skimpy swimwear like this.

And no – I never have and never will ever wear them myself. Mrs PM would never allow it.

5. Slush

Winter

In Manchester, it rarely snows. We are far more likely to get rain in the winter. However, when we do get snow and it is followed by rain, the settled snow starts to melt and becomes a sopping mess of half melted snow called slush. We have had some this winter actually and I think it is worse than snow because it is wetter. I hate snow but I hate slush more.

6. Wing

Holidays

You may think that is a bit of a stretch for word association but when I go on holiday I usually fly and on short flights I like to sit by the window and look out over the wing.

7. Candle

Scent

Mrs PM used to buy (and be given) scented candles as a gift. I think as far as presents go, they are a bit rubbish – just my own personal opinion of course. Granted, they can smell nice when lit, but sometimes the smell is just overpowering. She is less inclined to buy them these days but she does get the odd one as a gift.

8. Cinnamon

Stick

I like cinnamon and Mrs PM uses it sometimes when she is trying new recipes. I don’t think that I have ever used a cinnamon stick personally, because we tend to use ground cinnamon instead. However, the phrase is quite common and I know people who buy cinnamon sticks for cooking.

Love - With a Capital S

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:54:00 +0000

Welcome to a chilly and rainy South Manchester where the dreary temperature of 6°C doesn’t even begin to compete with the 33°C of Malaysia and 24°C of Hong Kong.

Yes – I am back from a two week jaunt to the Far East where we spent ten days in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Penang) and four days in Hong Kong. The jet lag is just about over now but the weather in Manchester will take some time to get used to again.

Let’s wade gently back into the land of bloggery with some silly questions from Sunday Stealing.

Things I Love Beginning with S

1. Spain.

One of the reasons I started to try to learn Spanish is because I love Spain.

I first visited the country back in the mid 1980’s when myself and two mates travelled there on Interrail from Paris. We visited San Sebastian in the north, Vigo in the west before heading (via Portugal) to Sevilla, Madrid and Barcelona. Perhaps the first word I learned in Spanish was cerveza (beer). Since then I have been back countless times, visiting most areas of this magnificent land. I’ve also been to the Balearic Islands (Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca) and the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote).

We are going back in May to Nerja on the south coast and I am really looking forward to it. My Spanish, although pretty poor, is getting better and I quite enjoy stumbling through sentences when talking to Spanish people. When they speak back though it is a struggle. I soldier on.

2. Saturday

When I was working, Saturday was the best day of the week because I could have a lie in and enjoy a day that didn’t have work at all (apart form the odd exception of course). Saturday is typically a great day for sport (football, rugby and cricket) and I can relax and have fun. One of my old pals, who retired before I did, told me: “every day is like Saturday, Dave”. And now that I am retired – he’s right – well sort of.

It is still a special day because Mrs PM still works and it is the best day for us to get together and do something interesting.

3. Sea

I live on an island and no place here is too far away from the sea. Manchester is 40 to 50 miles away from the nearest coast so if I want I can easily get there. Mrs PM comes from Blackpool which is a big holiday resort on the west coast of England and I get to see the sea whenever we go to visit her parents.

However, I like to sit watching the sea in sunnier places than north west England (mainly because it can be quite cold here, even in the summer). Whenever we go on a beach holiday I like to just sit there and contemplate life as I listen to the gentle sea or ocean lapping against the beach. It is very mindful and relaxing, especially as the sun goes down.

4. Star Trek

I am a geek and a lot of the people I used to work with are also geeks. On one trip to Muscat in Oman, I was sitting in the hotel bar with such a person. The conversation was one of the most nerdy that I have ever been involved in. It wouldn’t have been out of place in The Big Bang Theory.

PM: What are you talking about? There is no way that Star Wars is better than Star Trek!

Geek 2: Are you insane? Star Wars is far more successful than Star Trek. People who like Star Trek are weird!

PM: Weird? Bloody hell – weirdness is a sad movie that had Jar Jar Binks in it!

Geek 2: Okay that was a mistake. But what about Wesley Crusher? And NEELIX! If you think they are great characters you have no taste. Well that’s obvious because you prefer Star Trek.

And so it went on. And I am sure people started staring at us, rolling their eyes and shaking their heads.

And worse, nobody won the argument because secretly we BOTH like Star Wars and Star Trek.

I’ve loved Star Trek since the original series and, while not everything is good (let me mention Neelix and Wesley Crusher again – I agree with Geek 2 about those two terrible characters), the best bits of Star Trek are far better.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn and Star Trek: First Contact are far superior than any Star Wars movie in my opinion.

Talking of the Big Bang Theory, I love this scene – and yes I know it involve Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) but I have long since forgiven him (mainly because of this scene!):

I have to say that I have never been to a science fiction convention and if I did go, I wouldn’t get dressed up. Nor do I ever plan to learn Klingon:

Qapla’Ha’qu’ ghajbogh wanI’vam.

I can use Google translate!

5. Summer

As I sit here in a rainy city in north west England in the middle of winter, my positive mind is already searching for summer. I had a taste of it in Malaysia and Hong Kong and I can’t wait for May to come along. I live in England so we can’t guarantee that we will have a good summer. I do know, however, that I can and will jet off to Europe to enjoy the warm weather, the sunshine and long days. Last year in the UK we were lucky because we had four or five heatwaves here, which meant that I could enjoy all of those benefits from the comfort of my own home.

Summer is only a few months away and I can’t wait for it.

6. Sunday Stealing, of course!

It’s fun and silly!

Top Ten Enya Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 17:57:00 +0000

Every year, Spotify provides me with a summary of what I have been listening to the previous year providing me with the album I’ve listened to most, the artist that has been most prolific in my sphere of choices and the song I have listened to most.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that I bang on about progressive rock and heavy metal and so you might be forgiven for predicting that my top songs, albums and artists would be from those genres every year.

However, I like a lot of music out of those genres and when I was working, I used to listen to music that didn’t break my train of thought or draw me off into a universe surrounded by the music as a soundtrack at the expense of actually doing the work I was supposed to do. I therefore opted for something more soothing, ambient and pleasant and set up a mellow playlist of songs that would accompany on my creative voyage.

And that is why in the years 2023 and 2024 the artist that I listened to most in those years was Enya.

I was surprised to be honest, as might you be, dear reader.

Was I disappointed? Not at all. I think Enya is a genius and although she is not prolific, the material that is out there is just wonderful. I would be quite happy to sit in a darkened room with a blazing fire in the middle of winter listening to her voice and music for a couple of hours. It is soothing, deep and ethereal and very tuneful.

My most listened to artist of 2025 was Devin Townsend and that was because I no longer work and can therefore indulge myself. If you haven’t heard of him, the style of music he produces (according to Wikipedia) is heavy metal, extreme metal, progressive metal, alternative metal and hard rock. I would also add progressive rock to that list. But the one word that is missing from that list is ambient because Devin has also produced Enya-style ambient music in his back catalogue. I recall seeing an interview with him and he listed Enya as an influence because of the way she produces music.

Here’s what he said:

In my life I think I’ve probably bought six copies of that record; I fucking love that record. And in fact, when I first heard ‘Orinoco Flow’ on the radio I remember thinking that it sounded so different from anything else – it’s like a women’s, new age-y choir, and the amount of echo and reverb; I was like, "I want metal that sounds like Enya", and I think I’ve spent most of my career working towards that end!

I discovered Enya long before I discovered Devin Townsend and perhaps that mutual love of her music and the way she makes it is what drew me towards Devin and what he is trying to achieve.

Here are my favourite Enya songs and if you haven’t heard her music, I would dive into it and see what you think. The list is biased towards Shepherd Moons (my favourite album by Enya) and Watermark but the later albums are very good too. Let’s dive in:

10. The Longships (from Watermark – 1988)

Longships are Viking warships and they ventured across rough seas to invade the British Isles, including Ireland, in the 8th and 9th centuries. It wasn’t just my country that was invaded; their people ventured further west, east and south as well. I can imagine that if there were drones around all that time ago, this music would have been playing as the drones swooped over a fleet of longships on their way to England.

9. The Memory of Trees (from The Memory of Trees – 1995)

This song has appeared on my playlist as I have walked through a small wood near to where I live and immediately adjusted my mind from its chosen path to focussing on the trees that surrounded me. It was a great little diversion because it was one of those cloudy but sunny days when the suns rays were broken up through the branches.

8. A Day Without Rain (from A Day Without Rain – 2000)

Manchester has an unfair reputation for being one of the rainiest cities in England, which is good going given that it rains a lot in the UK. In Ireland, where Enya is from, it rains even more and so I imagine a day without rain is as good a day over there as it is here. That said, it isn’t that bad and sometimes a rainy day is quite welcome because it has a beauty of its own. This song provides the perfect soundtrack for a day when the rain has just stopped and the suns rays are glistening from the branches of trees.

7. Wild Child (from A Day Without Rain – 2000)

I think if I wrote a song called “Wild Child” it would be a lot heavier and more geared towards the partying days of my youth. Conversely Enya’s song is more uplifting and whenever I’ve heard it on my playlist I’ve thought about being on holiday, i.e. removing myself from the mundane drudgery of work and being free and “wild” in a beautiful place.

6. Watermark (from Watermark – 1988)

Watermark is the first song on the album of the same name and I think it is absolutely beautiful. Again, like most Enya songs it provides the perfect soundtrack for walking in beautiful countryside on a sunny day. Bliss.

5. Orinoco Flow (from Watermark – 1988)

This is the song that made both Devin Townsend and me huge fans of Enya. In the UK it rocketed to number 1 and made Enya a huge star. It is probably her most famous song and at the time of its release there had never been anything like it in the charts. I’m glad so many people liked it and it still holds a place in my heart even though it is not my all-time favourite.

4. Lothlórien (from Shepherd Moons – 1991)

Lothlórien is a beautiful song and I would love to be able to play it on a piano, if I ever get to the point where I’m not hitting the wrong keys. One day I may be able to do it justice. If you want to know, Lothlórien is one of the realms in Middle Earth that is ruled by Elves. I didn’t know that until I looked it up. I assumed it was a Gaelic word.

3. Shepherd Moons (from Shepherd Moons – 1991)

As I said, Shepherd Moons is my favourite album by Enya and the title track is the opening song. I bought it back in 1991 and when I heard this song it almost moved me to tears. It is another magnificent piano piece but this time accompanied by Enya’s beautiful and haunting voice. I like listening to this song at night if I am on holiday by the sea. I have fond memories of seeing the moon reflecting off a still ocean while listening to this through headphones. Wonderful.

2. Only Time (from A Day Without Rain – 2000)

I love the sentiment of this song and it always makes me think about how time flies, especially as you get older. In the video Enya is walking slowly through the various seasons as she sings and I can see the seasons slowly drifting by myself. Of course we are in winter now (which I hate) but it won’t be long before time drifts on and summertime is here. That makes me feel content.

1. Caribbean Blue (from Shepherd Moons – 1991)

This is another song that I play a lot when I am on holiday by the ocean. If I am going for a walk on my own along the promenade, I usually make a special effort to play Caribbean Blue as I look at the blueness of the sky and the ocean, especially if there aren’t many people around. Back in the early 1990’s I made a video of my holiday in Greece and used this song as a soundtrack to a walk that we took and it fitted perfectly. I love this song because it brings back so many good memories of holidays to Europe – oh and also in the Caribbean (when I visited the Bahamas and Barbados). It has a really special place in my heart.

Quince

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 12:17:00 +0000

Welcome to South Manchester on a bright, sunny but cold day. This time in just over a week, I’ll be on my way to Malaysia where I am informed the temperature is more like 30 °C to 35 °C (86 °F to 95 °F). I can cope with those kinds of temperatures and I’ve been to Singapore a few times (where the climate is roughly the same).

I’m looking forward to it.

In the meantime, here is a quick dive into this week’s Sunday Stealing.

Three things I love (Remember, these are things, not people):

1. Rock music

I’m going to say “rock” as opposed to the subgenres like progressive rock, heavy metal, psychedelic rock etc. I would add that progressive rock is probably my favourite subgenre but I like most other types of rock music.

2. Where I live

Manchester is a wonderful city and I am delighted to live here. It is a good base for travelling around the UK, being close to Wales, the Lake District, the Peak District and Yorkshire where the scenery is wonderful. It is easy to get to Birmingham and London by train, a mere two hours to London in fact. My house is also in a good district in the city, about five miles south of the city and within half an hour’s drive of the Cheshire countryside. I also love my house.

3. Travelling

Travelling is wonderful for the soul and very therapeutic. I have travelled extensively and already have plans to go to Malaysia, Hong Kong and Spain this year, with another destination as yet unplanned in September with a possible university reunion in a European city squeezed in sometime too.

Three things on my desk:

1. My laptop

2. My printer

3. A mini Groot light.

Three things I can't do:

1. Play guitar

I would love to be able to play the guitar but sadly it is not to be. I chose to learn the piano because it gives me more options. Until the age of 16 I could play the trombone but I’m not sure that I could now.

2. Sing

I have a synthesiser and it has a microphone that you can use to add vocals to a song. Last year, I used the synthesiser to produce a very crude version of “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode and record it using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) on my laptop. It wasn’t good but it did sound like the song if you were being very kind. Really it was just a practice to help me get used to the concept of recording music on a computer so, as bad as it is, the experiment was a success. That is until I tried to sing the lyrics and add it as an extra track. I decided to use my pure vocals rather than adding effects to my voice using the synthesiser. As the words left my mouth they sounded wonderful. They were in tune (according to my ears) and I thought that Dave Gahan, the lead singer of Depeche Mode, might say “Not as good as my voice, Dave, but pretty bloody good”.

And then I played it back.

MY VOICE SOUNDED DREADFUL!

The notes were okay but the tone of my voice was so bland, banal and boring that I was absolutely shocked. It didn’t sound like the angelic vocals that came out when I recorded it.

Note to self. If you are going to make music, Dave, DO NOT SING!

Make instrumentals or get somebody who CAN sing to do it for you.

3. Ride a motorbike

I have a friend who loves his motorbike and has often asked me to get on the back of the thing “for a ride around the country roads in Cheshire”. It would terrify me so I have always refused. I never saw the point of riding a motorbike because although, apparently, the experience is “exhilarating” (as he described it), to me at least it just seems dangerous. I am delighted that I can’t ride a motorbike and I will never ever get on one.

Three things I'm good at:

1. Maths

I always found maths quite easy and I was so good at it that I took my O-Level a year early and acquired an additional “advanced” O-Level before going on to get an A-Level too. When I went to university, I studied Computational and Statistical Science but a large portion of that, at least in the first two years, was maths. I know it is something that a large number of people struggle with but to me it is not that difficult. I am such a geek because I find it absolutely fascinationg.

2. Programming

I wrote loads of computer programs for over forty years and I was told that I was good at it. These programmes ranged from supplying the relevant data to display flight data on monitors in airports to controlling the flow of edible oil through various processing plants; backing up a crucial database without shutting down to routing vital messages from several incoming sources to several outgoing sources. And that’s just off the top of my head. There are lots of airports around the world where you can see the fruits of my software creation.

I have a logical mind and, as many programmers will tell you, as long as you know and understand the algorithm, you can get most things to work. Sadly, the rise of AI has eluded me and, currently, I have no desire to dive back into the realms of computer science because I want a break from it. That said, I may consider diving back into it as a hobby in future because I am quite interested in exploring the world of AI.

3. Ranting

I am trying my best to retire from ranting, having been called a “grumpy old man” and a “weird curmudgeon” (amongst other things). At work, people used to push my buttons on purpose because, apparently, I made a lot of people laugh. It was always good natured and I always tried my best to make it slightly humorous. I think it worked. The problem is that these days I start to get angry because the world is devolving. I am planning a (non-ranting) post on this in due course – but trying to do so without actually ranting is proving very difficult, if I’m honest.

Three things I want to accomplish:

1. Learn to play the piano

Playing the piano is a good retirement project that I am currently enjoying. It is really a stepping stone to trying to create and record some digital music and record it on the computer. A retired mate of mine does this now and has released his music on Spotify. I will never be as good as he is but I don’t really care. I am doing it for fun. If you want to look up my mate, his "artist" name is Methyl Orange.

2. Write a novel

I am currently (and very slowly) writing a novel. I don’t plan to get it published (as I am not a good writer). Nevertheless, to actually finish one and be happy with it would be very satisfying.

3. Speak a language almost fluently

I am currently trying to learn Spanish, French and German and I am improving at all of them. I know really that I will never be fluent because you really have to immerse yourself by living there for a while. It’s still a goal though and if you don’t have a goal you will just stop.

I’m getting there – slowly.

Young Guns

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 12:18:00 +0000

Welcome to a bright but cold winter day in South Manchester. The UK has been battered by a storm called Storm Goretti (named by the French Meteorological Office) which struck the other night bringing 100mph hour winds and tons of snow to various parts of the country. Thankfully it travelled south of Manchester and the only sign that we had here was a slightly breezier day and a little rain. In the UK, we are legendary in our ineptitude at being able to cope with adverse weather conditions. Whenever a storm arrives or we have snow, the whole country comes to a standstill, and such is the case with this new storm. Locally (within about a fifty mile radius) we are okay but the rest of the country is struggling to cope, with power cuts, blocked roads and transport problems. Hopefully things will improve soon.

This week’s Sunday Stealing takes us back in time to childhood. In my case this is about five decades because I was born in 1962 and grew up, really, in the 1970’s. I guess it will vary from person to person. To be honest, I don’t recall much about the 1960’s apart from England winning the World Cup in 1966 and Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon in 1969. I was only three years old when England won but I vaguely recall my dad being ecstatically happy about it. The Moon landing was different because my dad told me that this was an important moment in history and as we watched it on TV he told me that I should remember this - and I do.

By the way. the photo above is me when I was twelve years old. That was over fifty years ago and makes me feel really old

Shall we dive in, anyway?

1. Tell us about a time when your family got a newfangled invention (your first air conditioner, colour TV, VCR, microwave, computer, etc.).

My dad, like me, was a lover of technology and gadgets. I think if he had had the opportunities and educational chances that I had he may have been the first person in my family to go into further education but instead he had to make do with succumbing to the demands of the working-class principles of the day. He left school at fifteen and immediately got a job in a factory. He was a well- read man though, my old man, and he always had his nose in a book. Whenever he saw something shiny and new advertised on the TV, he would make a mental note to save up his hard-earned money and buy it.

For this reason, we were one of the first families where I lived to get a colour TV and a VCR when they were released. I remember seeing him walking up the street carrying a box. I ran up to him and, knowing his love of gadgetry, I asked him what he had bought. He smiled and said “Come home and see; we can set it up.”

It was a VCR and I had heard of them but never thought we could afford one. The two of us set it up and worked out the controls and how to record on the timer and then played with it for weeks. We had quite a few tapes and gradually he started building up a library of his favourite shows. My mates wanted to visit just to see it in action. I loved it because you could pause TV programmes and step through them a frame at a time, which made watching football on Match of the Day really interesting.

2. Is there a particular song that sparks a childhood memory?

There are hundreds of songs that spark childhood memories. Here are a couple:

I loved this song and my dad hated it. I was only about four at the time but I remember hearing it on the radio at Christmas while sitting in front of a coal fire at my Grandad’s house and then jumping up and down singing “She’s giving me Good Vibrations” much to the amusement of my grandparents. I still love the song today.

This is the first song that I really loved. The Sweet were a British glam rock band who were massive in the UK in the early 1970’s and this song reached number one, which meant that it was played everywhere. My parents and grandparents hated it but we as kids loved it. I have a vivid memory of attempting to dance to it at a school disco with my mates when I was about eight years old.

Fast forward to 1978 when I was about fifteen years old. I used to do a paper round and had to be up at the crack of dawn. My dad worked shifts in a factory and he would wake me up at about 5:30 am and I would drink coffee while listening to the radio in order to wake myself up. Baker Street was released in the winter and I recall loving it before setting off to wander the streets with a bag full of newspapers in the darkness before the whole of Walsall woke up. I recall loving the tranquillity and peace of dark silent streets as people were gradually waking up to greet the new day. I did briefly consider becoming a postman for that reason and I think if I ever get bored in retirement (as unlikely that this is) I might just think about early morning deliveries. It is very mindful and relaxing.

3. What is something an older family member taught you to do?

My mum taught me to cook a lot of basic things as well as useful household chores. I am not a fan of cooking now but thanks to my mum I can make a variety of things even without recipes should the need arise. This came in very useful when I left for university. A lot of my mates there were hopeless in the kitchen. In fact, there are lots of mates of mine even today who can’t cook (or maybe that is just an excuse). I certainly encouraged my own lads to cook and now they are both very good. My youngest son's Brownies are delightful (and I have just finished off the batch he made us for Christmas).

4. Back in the day, what name brands would we have found in your family's kitchen?

A lot of brands have survived from when I was a child and some have fallen by the wayside. We used to have Heinz soup for example. A few weird things existed though like powdered mashed potato. We had a brand called Smash with the slogan “For mash get Smash”. It had a funny advert though:

Thankfully, we peeled potatoes with our metal knives, boiled them for twenty of our minutes and smashed them all to bits because Smash was horrible in comparison.

Another disgusting thing that my mum used to buy was condensed milk which came in a can and looked vaguely like normal milk – except that it was thick, sweet, sickly and tasted nothing like milk at all. In fact, there was a Saturday morning kids show called TISWAS (Today Is Saturday Watch and Smile) where they used to take the mickey out of this foul substance by pretending that “condensed milk sandwiches” were a good thing.

5. As a child, did you collect anything (rocks, shells, stickers, etc.)?

Yes I did. I started off by collecting cigarette cards. My dad was a smoker (as were most people back in the 1960’s and 1970’s) and with each packet of cigarettes you got a little card with a picture on it and you could collect them all and add them to a little booklet. I gave up eventually and started collecting football programmes. My dad was a regular at Walsall football club and every time he went to a game he would buy a programme. I started collecting them in 1973 and I carried on through university and for the first couple of years of work. And then I stopped apart from buying the odd one at more recent games. I actually still have my collection in the loft. I don’t think they are worth anything but certainly the nostalgia factor is still there. I even dug one out for my next door neighbour recently because he knows a former professional footballer who played for Port Vale against my team, Walsall, in the 1970’s and I have a football programme with a photo of him in it and his name on the team sheet. Apparently he was pleased to see his name and face in the programme.

Here is an example of one of the first programmes I collected:

Top 10 Deep Purple Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:46:00 +0000

When I look at the way my musical taste has changed over the decades, there are several bands that have remained and excelled. One of those bands is Deep Purple a band that has gone through many lineup changes but all of them seem to have preserved a certain style of music that I love. Not only that but many bands have been formed from ex-members of Deep Purple that I also love, such as Rainbow, Whitesnake and Gillan.

Deep Purple, like Black Sabbath, are added to a group of bands who experts say are the founders of heavy metal. While some of their songs can be classed as heavy metal, I would suggest that they also have elements of classic hard rock and progressive rock scattered throughout their huge discography.

They formed in 1968 and, despite the band splitting up in 1976 for eight years, they are still producing music. The line up changed a lot and the various incarnations have been labelled as Mark I to Mark IX as musicians and singers have come and gone. My favourite line up is the Mark II but all lineups have produced great songs. Most of the current and past members of the band have been my musical heroes since I was a teenager. Here are some of them:

Ian Paice – Current drummer - the only member who has been with all lineups of the band. He also played with Whitesnake when Deep Purple split up until the band reformed in 1984.

Roger Glover – Current Bass Guitar – has played with Rainbow as well and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left in 1973 to be replaced by Glenn Hughes but rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed.

Ian Gillan – Current vocalist – formed his own band called Gillan and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left the band to be replaced by David Coverdale in 1973 and rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed.

Jon Lord – Keyboards – also played with Whitesnake when the band split up and was part of the Mark II lineup. He was a constant member until he decided to retire in 2002. Sadly he passed away in 2012.

Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar – the legendary guitarist and one of my favourite guitarists of all time. He formed Rainbow and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left in 1975 but rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed, leaving again in 1993.

Don Airey – Keyboards – also played with Rainbow and many other bands I like. He replaced Jon Lord when he decided to retire in 2002.

David Coverdale – Vocalist – joined after Ian Gillan left but formed Whitesnake when the band split up.

Glenn Hughes – Singer/Bass Guitar player – has had a varied career since Deep Purple split up in 1976 and is still going strong.

Steve Morse – Guitarist – had big shoes to fill replacing Ritchie Blackmore in 1993 but filled them very well. He left the band in 2022 to look after his wife who was ill.

Deep Purple were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and honoured past members as well as the line up at the time.

It has been difficult to list my top ten songs but I have managed it. If you ask me again this time next week it may be slightly different.

10. Birds of Prey (from Infinite – 2016)

This is the newest song in the top ten and features the Mark VIII lineup. It is a slow burner, a kind of heavy blues song, a style I like a lot. However, what makes this special is Steve Morse’s guitar playing. The song reaches a crescendo at around the 4 minute mark where Morse takes over plays an amazing outro that lasts almost two minutes and demonstrates perfectly why he was a brilliant replacement for Ritchie Blackmore.

9. Strange Kind of Woman (from Fireball – 1971)

Moving back in time, we have a song that is great but sounds much better live. This is from the legendary Mark II line up and when performed live features Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore trying to copy each other using the incredible voice of Gillan and Blackmore’s virtuoso guitar playing. You get an idea of what I mean at the 5 minute mark. And also listen to full power of Ian Gillan’s voice at the 8 minute 15 second mark. I doubt he can do that now.

8. Smoke on the Water (from Machine Head -1972)

This is the song from the Mark II lineup that everybody knows and loves and I am guessing that there are people asking me why this isn’t number one. It is an iconic and amazing song with a great back story but I have heard it so many times that putting it number one would be boring and a little lazy. I really honestly do prefer those higher in the list and I genuinely love the song. If you have been living under a rock since 1972, here it is in its full glory.

7. Weirdistan – (from Now What?! – 2012)

This is a song from the Mark VIII line up and once more features Steve Morse on guitar. Like me, this is a little bit of a weird song (you may have guessed from the title). The bass guitar is quite prominent on this song and it also features some great keyboard work from Don Airey. It all comes together in a package that pushes the right buttons for me.

6. Woman from Tokyo (from Who Do We Think We Are – 1973)

This is another classic from the Mark II lineup. It may seem like a typical Deep Purple song yet there is mellow interlude that makes my spine tingle a little bit and occurs around the 2 minute mark. I just love it.

5. Burn (from Burn – 1973)

This is from the Mark III lineup and I posted it in my favourite David Coverdale songs, where it settled at a lofty Number 2. It’s a great song and, as I said in that post, I love Ritchie Blackmore’s guitarwork.

4. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming (from Purpendicular – 1996)

I used to go to site a lot when I worked, which meant taking trips abroad, sometimes alone. And sometimes I was away for three or four weeks and on occasion in the middle of nowhere where there wasn’t much to do other than work hard during the day and return to a hotel in a place where there wasn’t much to do. And sometimes it was quite lonely.

This song from the Mark VII lineup is a sad but beautiful expression of that lonely frustration. It features superlative guitar playing from Steve Morse who really used this song to state that he was a worthy replacement for Ritchie Blackmore.

3. Perfect Strangers (from Perfect Strangers – 1984)

In 1984 I was astounded and delighted to learn that Deep Purple were reforming with the classic Mark II line up and the result of that was the album Perfect Strangers. The title track is a perfect example of how I think the Mark II line up would have evolved if they had stayed together. The live version of this song is also very special complete with lasers.

2. Highway Star (from Machine Head – 1972)

Highway Star from the classic Mark II lineup is a great driving song. I remember driving a car in the US and it was a boring and long journey with not a lot to see when I was stunned to hear this song appear on the radio. And this transformed the journey for me. I suddenly felt really good and the music make the journey far more interesting at least for five minutes. It features great interplay between Jon Lord’s keyboards and Ritchie Blackmore’s amazing guitar, all rounded off with Ian Gillan’s incredible voice.

1. Child In Time (from In Rock – 1970)

I love progressive rock and to a lot of people that means self-indulgent long songs. To me, a good long prog song is like a mini symphony with varied themes and a story. Child in Time, from the legendary Mark II line up, is, to me at least, a brilliant progressive rock song. Yes, there is a little self-indulgence from Jon Lord and Ritche Blackmore but so what? As for Ian Gillan, he displays his entire vocal range brilliantly on this song and shows what an incredible singer he is.

Shopping List

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome to a sunny but cold South Manchester and also welcome to 2026.

I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year, dear reader and, if you are interested, you can read my thoughts on 2025 right here:

Goodbye 2025

Let’s start this year’s nonsense with some silly questions from Sunday Stealing.

1. What would you rather be doing right now?

I’m quite happy writing this post to be honest, but if I had a choice, I would rather be checking into a hotel in a different country with a plan to explore. Typically for me, January and February are the worst months of the year because here in the UK it is usually dark, cold and miserable. However, since I’ve retired, I can tolerate this time of year because I don’t have the added frustration and bleakness of doing a job that irritated me. Moreover, this year we are off to Malaysia at the end of January for two weeks, visiting Kuala Lumpur and Penang before calling into Hong Kong for a few days on the way back. I am looking forward to it because Malaysia is a country I have yet to visit and also I just love Hong Kong. It will be like visiting an old friend.

2. What is always on your grocery list?

The single most important thing on the list is cat food for my two bosses.

After that the other items are usually salad, vegetables, fruit, bread, eggs, milk, cheese and other things that we need to replenish on a weekly basis. A lot of people like to do their grocery shopping online but I prefer to go to the actual supermarket because I spot things as I wander around the aisles. The last time we did our grocery shopping online was when both Mrs PM and I had Covid and they messed it up big time. In fact every time I have tried it, they screw something up by forgetting something or “substituting” something you asked for with something that you didn’t.

I am not a huge fan of going to the supermarket at all but since I am retired and Mrs PM still works, it is one of my many new tasks as her Personal Assistant. And I always get it right.

3. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?

I have never used a fire extinguisher.

4. How many times did you text yesterday?

I don’t send texts anymore. I use WhatsApp these days. I think I sent a few messages to friends and family wishing them a Happy New Year.

5. Would you prefer a slow-paced, relaxing vacation or one filled with new sights and experiences?

I would prefer a mixture of the two. An example of this is our holiday to Malaysia. We are going to explore the bustling city that is Kuala Lumpur for three or four days and then fly to Penang for a relaxing few days by the beach before setting off to Hong Kong where we will once again explore parts of the city we haven’t been to before (there aren’t many such places to be fair but we will have fun searching for them).

Goodbye 2025

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 14:30:00 +0000

It’s that time of the year, dear reader, where I try to sum up the year that is about to be filed in the annals of history while thinking ahead to the new year. 2025 marks the end of my first full year of retirement and it was special for that reason. I spent the year enjoying not working. Gone are the days when I had to deal with constant deadlines and office politics.

It is very relaxing and I am much happier for it.

On the other hand, I promised myself that I would try to keep my mind and body active and I think I have managed to achieve that with a routine that has given me some purpose. That said, I am still thinking about what to do in 2026 and also still learning about what is out there for an old git like me.

The best way to summarise the year is to be guided by a set of questions that hopefully cover what happened in 2025.

Here goes.

1. What did you do in 2025 that you’d never done before?

I gained a daughter-in-law.

My eldest son got married earlier this month in a small ceremony in Manchester with just close family members attending. They are going to have a big celebratory party in 2026 but for the purposes of the wedding they wanted to keep it small and special.

I also joined Lancashire Cricket Club so that I use my free time in the summer relaxing while watching a peaceful cricket match. I managed to see Lancashire play and also attended a couple of England games, including a very lively and very exciting test match against India.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Yes I did, largely. The routine I set up last year helped me battle against procrastination. Over the day or so I will be looking at extending the routine to perhaps bring in a few more resolutions. One that I particularly want to do is to expand my reading a little by making time to read non-fiction books about subjects that interest me, in particular science subjects.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

I know that my new daughter-in-law’s sister gave birth to a son but I’m not 100% sure that is was in 2025 or not.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes, sadly.

Mrs PM’s step mother sadly passed away in November at the age of 76. It was a real shock to us because we went for a meal with her a few days before it happened. I will miss her.

5. What countries did you visit?

We had a great year for travel in 2025.

In February we visited the Spanish island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. It was my first visit there.

In May, we took Mrs PM’s mother to Valletta in Malta.

In June, we visited Nice, which is one of our favourite cities in France and on one day we took the train to what is another country, Monaco.

Finally, we took a cruise with some close friends of ours and visited Greece and Turkey. I was particularly pleased to have visited Athens for the first time.

Here are a few holiday snaps.

Playa Blanca, Lanzarote

Sunset in Playa Blanca

Boats in Valletta, Malta

A Fountain in Valletta

A Dream Theater tribute band in Nice

A nice car in Monaco

Sunset in Greece

Mrs PM, PM and two cruise buddies

6. What would you like to have in 2026 that you lacked in 2025?

For this question last year, I asked for a better summer than usual. I think somebody divine must have read it because we were granted with a really good summer with several heat waves and much less rain. Of course, in typical fashion, the lack of rain meant that some parts of the UK were told to be very careful with their water usage. However, we are in Manchester so there was enough rain to keep the water supplies at the appropriate level.

For 2026? I am still waiting for that elusive lottery win.

7. What dates from 2025 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

December 13th is a great date because that’s when I gained a daughter-in-law and officially became a father-in-law.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Making an average of 10,000 steps per day in 2025.

I can say this is done because even if I don't walk tomorrow that target is in the bag. That's an average of 5 miles per day and about 1825 miles walked in the year. Maybe I will aim for 2000 miles in total in 2026 - but we shall see.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I’m still trying to draw myself away from politics in an attempt to be more positive but it is difficult to do so with the trends that are happening worldwide. When I watch You Tube for example, I find that the “algorithm” is offering me political opinions that I really shouldn’t take any notice of. It is difficult and I really need to have more self-control and not end up following these trails of pain that lead me into territory where I start getting really angry.

It's a battle that I will no doubt continue to fight in 2026.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had a couple of colds but nothing more than that.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

The holidays were a great purchase, particularly the Aegean cruise. I also bought a little desk tidy unit that fits snugly next to my desk and makes it much less cluttered. Actually, Mrs PM bought that for me, so not sure whether that counts.

Oh, and I bought a new smart watch.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

As usual, I award Plastic Mancunian Knighthoods to those heroes who dedicate their lives to helping others without wanting the plaudits that many more famous people crave.

I salute you all - you know who you are.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Well that is a really easy question to answer.

Donald Trump continues to turn America into a dangerous place to be and in his second term he is breaking more rules than he did before and making a much bigger mess than he did during his first term. He is a typical malignant narcissist who has created around himself an alternate world where truth doesn’t exist unless it favours him and his views.

Likewise we have Nigel Farage in the UK who is slowly but surely trying to create a divisive narrative in the UK with Trumpian values that echo what Trump is doing in the US. Sadly, he is gaining in popularity and that is very dangerous for the UK.

And of course we have other dangerous lunatics in the world, like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

This is why I am trying to shield myself from politics because my anger is rising as I type.

Let’s pause while I walk away and take some very deep breaths.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Definitely holidays this year – as is also the case in other years.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I was excited about my holidays but also I saw some amazing and varied gigs this year.

Rock gigs I went to were: Zakk Sabbath (an all star tribute to Black Sabbath including Zakk Wilde, Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist), The Wildhearts, The Black Spiders, two tribute festivals and a tribute gig in Manchester, Nine Inch Nails, Ugly Kid Joe, The Eureka Machines, Ricky Warwick, The Stranglers and The Offspring.

Pop gigs I went to were: Absolute Bowie (a David Bowie tribute band), Massive Attack, Bjorn Again, Heaven 17, Squeeze and Madness.

16. What song will always remind you of 2025?

I discovered a couple of new bands, the most prominent being an Italian progressive rock band called Kingcrow. I loved their album Hopium (which was released in 2024) and here is a great song from that album:

I am a huge fan of Riverside and the genius behind that band, Mariusz Duda has a side project called Lunatic Soul that released a new album this year. Here is a beautiful song from that album called The Prophecy:

Other great albums released this year that I loved are:

Dream Theater – Parasomnia

The Wildhearts – The Satanic Rites of the Wildhearts

Steven Wilson – The Overview

Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares (soundtrack)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?

I am happier definitely because it is my first full year of retirement.

I am about the same in terms of weight – just slightly overweight with a BMI of just over 26.

I am probably about the same financially too – maybe slightly poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

I’m quite happy with what I did last year but maybe I could have been a little more adventurous.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

I am desperately trying to avoid getting drawn into the world of politics because it makes me angry. I tried to step back and ignore it in 2025 and discovered that you can’t really do that unless you ignore the news. I can’t do that and certain “leaders” made me rant when I am trying to become more laid back. At least these days, I try not to talk about politics with other people – and that is helping a little.

20. How will you spend New Year's Eve?

We are having a small New Year’s party at a mate's house in Sale.

21. Did you fall in love in 2025?

I was already in love in 2025.

22. What was your favourite TV program?

I am currently enjoying the second season of Peacemaker and am watching Parks and Recreation for the first time which is fun. I will be watching the final series of Stranger Things next year.

I really enjoyed Daredevil Reborn and Dexter: Resurrection.

I think I will name the last two as joint winners.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don’t hate anyone but there are certain people who really really push me to the limit. I mention them all the time so I won’t give them any more airspace this year.

24. What was the best book you read?

I enjoyed Mr Mercedes by Stephen King which I read for the first time. I will also be watching the series in 2026.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I would say, Kingcrow as mentioned above. But I also discovered a band called Volbeat who have been around for years and I hadn’t heard of them until I saw a tribute band for them.

26. What did you want and get?

I wanted to have a few holidays in my first year of retirement – and I got exactly that.

27. What did you want and not get?

That elusive lottery win that I am still waiting for.

28. What was your favourite film of this year?

I would say Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. It was a great way to end a great series of films.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

At my time of life, birthdays have virtually no importance. This year I was 63 years old and I was travelling back from a cruise on the Aegean Sea.

30. What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

As I said, it was my first full year of retirement and I know that I made exactly the right decision.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2025?

My fashion sense was and remains non-existent. Perhaps the only thing I bought this year that makes any difference is a new three piece suit for my son’s wedding.

32. What kept you sane?

Mrs PM of course.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I don’t really “fancy” celebrities (for many reasons) but I recently saw Kate Beckinsale and Gillian Anderson and they both looked lovely, so I will share the honour between those two ladies.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Where to start without ranting …

See my answer to 13 above.

35. Who did you miss?

I will miss Mrs PM’s step mother. We got on really well and it is such a shame to have lost her.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Nobody leaps to mind.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2025.

My retirement routine works and I plan to tweak it in 2026.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

With question 13 in mind …

The righteous rise with burning eyes

Of hatred and ill-will

Madmen fed on fear and lies

To beat, and burn, and kill

They say there are strangers who threaten us

Our immigrants and infidels

They say there is strangeness too dangerous

In our theatres and bookstore shelves

Those who know what's best for us

Must rise and save us from ourselves

Quick to judge, quick to anger

Slow to understand

Ignorance and prejudice

And fear, walk hand in hand

And finally...

I wish everyone who stumbles across this blog post a very happy and fruitful 2026. May all your wishes come true – unless your name is Nigel Farage or Donald Trump.

Faves

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:16:00 +0000

Welcome to a sunny but chilly South Manchester with six days to go until Christmas Day.

We have a busy Christmas planned this year. We’re visiting friends in Chester tomorrow, then travelling to Blackpool on Tuesday, returning on Christmas Eve, spending the day at our house with my two sons, my new daughter-in-law and my mother-in-law before returning to Blackpool on Boxing Day. I return from Blackpool the day afterwards and am going to a gig in Manchester entitled “Christmas in Valhalla” featuring five heavy metal tribute bands.

After that I can relax until New Year’s Eve.

There is just time to answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing (with the word “favourite” modified throughout to reflect the correct English spelling rather than the favoured American spelling).

1. Describe your favourite cake.

My favourite cake is Black Forest Gateau but I only have it in restaurants these days if it is available. We don’t have it at home because Mrs PM is allergic to eggs and if she eats it, it makes her feel queasy. We discovered this about four years ago, when she brought a huge one for Christmas during the pandemic. We were locked down and she decided not to have any more, which left me trying to scoff it before the “use by” date expired. I absolutely loved the cake but it was tough eating so much of it.

I dread to think how many pounds I added to my body weight.

2. Think of the best party you've ever attended. Were you a host or a guest?

I’ve been to a lot of parties and all of them have been fun so it is difficult to recall which one was the best. I was almost certainly a guest because I find hosting a party quite stressful, which means that I don’t enjoy them as much.

3. When you choose a greeting card, do you pay more attention to the words or the pictures?

I usually choose a card that has a funny picture because I much prefer them to boring cards. The last one I bought was for my son’s wedding and etiquette demands that such cards are boring and, in my opinion, a little stuffy. That was a one off and I paid more attention to the words. For birthday cards I always choose a card with a funny image – even for Mrs PM – because such cards are more fun.

I don't send Chrsitmas cards anymore.

4. What's your favourite holiday?

Okay – I am assuming that this is what American’s mean by “holiday” rather than the British version.

In the UK a “holiday” means a trip somewhere, i.e. the equivalent of an American “vacation”. Correct me if I am wrong but an American “holiday” is something like Christmas or Thanksgiving. In the UK we don’t have Thanksgiving but we definitely have Christmas and that, dear reader, is my favourite. The reason stems from the recent days when I used to work because I always chose to have two weeks off to join in the festivities and forget about the daily grind for a fortnight. Now I am retired, I still love Christmas because everyone is happy, there are lots of get-togethers and we see people we haven’t seen for a while.

5. Who is your favourite character on your favourite TV show?

It’s difficult to choose my favourite TV show so I will list a couple that I am watching at the moment.

The first is an American sitcom called “Parks and Recreation”. I had heard that it is really funny, so Mrs PM and I decided to watch it during her lunch breaks (she is still working and works from home). We are currently up to series 3. My favourite character is probably Ron Swanson, the boss.

I’m also watching season 2 of The Peacemaker and, of course, the best character is Peacemaker himself. Be aware that the clip below contains bad language.

Finally, I’m watching a Scottish sitcom called Still Game from the early 2000s that I hadn’t seen before until a friend of mine pointed it out. The two old men who are the main characters are both brilliant. Here’s a clip but again beware, there is some fruity language in it (if you can understand the accents, that is).

And finally …

I would like to wish everyone who stumbles upon this a post a Merry Christmas. I hope you have a great and relaxing time snuggled up against the fire. Of course, if you are Australian, you can pop out and enjoy the summer sun – and please take pity on me and don’t mention the cricket.

It's Me - Yet Again

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 17:12:00 +0000

Welcome to a cold but sunny South Manchester day. We are fast approaching the shortest day of the year, which will occur in nine days’ time. The sun will rise at 08:23 in the morning and will set at 15:51, which means that we will only get 7 hours and 28 minutes of daylight. The good news is that the days start to get longer after that we have Christmas and New Year to look forward to.

You’ve got to look at the positives of every situation, right?

Let’s dive into some Sunday Stealing shenanigans.

1. What one word describes your personality?

Weird.

That is of course my own personal opinion and, sometimes, that of Mrs PM too who often implores me to “Stop being weird!” I have met a lot of people who are a lot weirder than I am but I think that adjective does just about sum me up.

2. What's the best way to get on your good side?

Buy me a beer or a coffee and have a chat to me.

The fact that I will accept the beer tells you that I am willing to try to get to know you or perhaps forgive you for a misdemeanour. If I don’t like you, I will still try to be nice to you on the surface because I do regard myself as a nice guy. Nevertheless I will try to avoid you and I probably wouldn’t accept the beer or coffee, making an excuse to avoid it.

3. What person do you feel most comfortable with?

I feel comfortable with a lot of people but the person I feel most comfortable with is, unsurprisingly, Mrs PM. She is the person from planet Earth that knows me best – hence, as I said above, she will say “Stop being weird”.

4. Do you handle criticism well?

Yes, if it is deserved, constructive and if I can learn from it. Sometimes it is good to be honest and if I am being an arse I would rather be told about it.

5. Are you the type to tell someone, if asked, that their pants DO make them look fat?

Absolutely not. Mrs PM sometimes asks for my opinion about clothes she wants to buy and I hate it when she does because she says things like “Be honest with me”. I would never say that something makes people look fat, even if it really did. I would choose to be more subtle or more delicate by saying “No – but I prefer the one you tried on before. That really suits you.” Or pehaps I would just look puzzled for a second or two and then shake my head without saying anything else.

Top 10 David Coverdale Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 17:25:00 +0000

I recently heard that one of my musical heroes has finally decided to hang up his microphone and officially retire. That man is David Coverdale, the man behind the rock band Whitesnake. I’ve been listening to his music for most of my life and whenever I hear some of his songs, it takes me back to earlier chapters of my life.

I have seen him live at least ten times and he is one of those frontmen who is entertaining and fascinating to watch.

He first crossed my radar back in the 1970’s when Whitesnake were a new band who played a kind of blues rock that I really enjoyed. Around that time I also learned that he had been in the band Deep Purple, replacing Ian Gillan as vocalist . Those were very big shoes to fill.

After his stint with Deep Purple, he formed Whitesnake and gradually the band become more popular in the UK with a few top 20 hits. It wasn’t, however, until the mid-1980’s when he changed the band’s style and they took off massively in America.

David Coverdale became a huge rock star and Whitesnake became massively famous.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see him in both eras of the band, from those early bluesier days or Whitesnake to the later more American hard rock phase. I’ve seen some amazing musicians play live in the band including, legendary drummers Cozy Powell and Ian Paice, incredible guitarist Steve Vai and of course John Lord, former Deep Purple keyboard player.

When it comes to his music, I have to say that I prefer Whitesnake’s earlier style of music before they became a huge band. Nevertheless, the later albums were still really good too.

I thought I would offer my list of favourite ten songs featuring David Coverdale, including his days with Deep Purple and his one-off project with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page.

10. Don’t Leave Me This Way – Coverdale/Page (from Coverdale/Page – 1993)

The album Coverdale/Page wasn’t really that well received and I think that view is unfair. The album is really good and has some really strong songs. Jimmy Page is a fantastic guitar player and I think David Coverdale’s voice complemented the guitar really well. My favourite song from the album is a really amazing piece of heavy blues.

9. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More – Whitesnake (from Ready an’ Willing – 1980)

I still consider the classic line up of Whitesnake to be the that from the first four albums with Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody on guitars and Jon Lord on keyboards. This is a lovely song from that era that starts off slowly and melodically before evolving into a heavier song.

8. Till the Day I Die – Whitesnake (from Come an’ Get It – 1981)

In some ways. This song is very similar to the last one. Again it follows the formula of starting off slowly and melodically, evolving into a slightly heavier affair. I love listening to Jon Lord’s keyboards towards the end of the song.

7. Still of the Night – Whitesnake (from 1987 – 1987)

In 1987, Whitesnake completely changed their style from being the blues rock band I had grown up with to a more hard rock hair metal band. When I first heard the only thing that told me the band was Whitesnake were David Coverdale’s unique vocals. The entire band had been replaced apart from him and that made me sad. I guess he felt that the band had to evolve but it was a shame in my opinion. That said, I think Still of the Night is a brilliant song and there are elements of the previous style throughout the song.

6. Crying in the Rain – Whitesnake (from Saints & Sinners – 1982)

David Coverdale felt the need to rerecord a new version of this song for the album 1987, turning it from a bluesy rock song into a hard rock version. And I don’t know why he did this. The original version is a masterpiece and in my opinion didn’t need to evolve to satisfy a more American market. He also did a similar thing with Fool For Your Loving and again the new version lost something. This version of Crying in the Rain is vastly superior.

5. Slow an’ Easy – Whitesnake (from Slide It In 1983)

The first time I saw Whitesnake was in 1984 while at university in Liverpool and it featured John Sykes on guitar, Jon Lord on keyboard and Cozy Powell on drums. It was an amazing gig and I loved watching the band perform this song live.

4. Blindman – Whitesnake (from Ready an’ Willing – 1980)

Blindman highlights just what a great voice David Coverdale has. I think it is a beautiful song and perhaps should have been released as a single. I don’t know what the criteria is for such decisions but I imagine that the band and/or producers thought that the world didn’t need a beautiful blues song to help it along. That’s such a shame.

Like a blind man I can feel the heat of the sun

But like a blind man I don’t know where it’s coming from

3. Take Me With You – Whitesnake (from Trouble – 1978)

Take Me With You is a great rock song and is the first song on the first album. While the studio version is a great song in its own right, the live version from the live album “Live … In the Heart of the City” is even better.

2. Burn – Deep Purple (from Burn – 1973)

Ian Gillan is a great vocalist but he left Deep Purple when the band was at its peak with the famous “Mark II” lineup. The arrival of David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass/backing vocals marked the start of the “Mark III” lineup and as I said earlier, David Coverdale had big shoes to fill. The album Burn is a great album and the title track is just magnificent. With Ritche Blackmore on guitar, this version of Deep Purple wrote some great songs, but none greater than Burn.

1. – Don’t Break My Heart Again (from Come an’ Get It – 1981)

The album “Come an’ Get It” holds a special place in my heart. It was released in April 1981 and that was a pivotal year for me. It is the year that I did my A-levels, my final year at school, the year I started going to the pub with my mates and the year that I started university. It is also the year that my dad died.

This particular song takes me back through all of those memories, both euphoric and miserable and I like to look back in a positive way, despite everything that happened. I used to play the album on Saturday night before I caught the bus with my old mate Simon and the song would play in my head. It’s definitely a nostalgia trip and I am sure that other Whitesnake fans would disagree with me. I don’t care. It brings back bittersweet memories for me.

And finally …

I hope you have a fantastic and long retirement Mr Coverdale. You’ve earned it.

Thanks for the songs and the memories.

Scare Tale

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 15:10:00 +0000

Welcome to South Manchester on a very rainy early December Saturday. I was at yet another gig last night – the penultimate one of 2025 – and I saw Madness, a pop band from the 1980’s who, after all this time, are still performing. It was a real blast from the past.

I think Madness are only well known in the UK and haven’t really drifted towards the States (I may be wrong here), probably because they are a slightly eccentric band (as the name suggests). They are known as “The Nutty Boys” because all of their songs are light-hearted and their videos are funny.

Here is a taste.

I missed the FIFA World Cup draw because of the gig but in a way I am very glad I did. Apparently it was a total farce and the president of FIFA even presented the Orange Goblin with the inaugural FIFA “Peace Prize” presumably to satisfy his huge ego after the Nobel committee quite rightly decided that there is no way on God’s Earth that Donald Trump could receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Watching America from afar at the moment is like watching a soap opera with the Orange Blimp at the centre of it all. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so scary.

Anyway, sorry for that political mini-rant; let’s answer some daft questions from Sunday Stealing.

1. What was the scariest thing in the world to you when you were a kid? Does it still scare you now?

I was terrified of anything that was related to Satan, including and especially vampires. My dad allowed me to watch “Dracula” the Hammer horror version with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. I was twelve years old. You may think he was cruel but he did this to teach me a lesson because I constantly pestered him about it. The film scared me shitless and I hardly slept for a couple of nights.

I think the root of my fear was the fact that at that time I was in the middle of a sixteen year indoctrination into the Roman Catholic church. I went to a Roman Catholic junior school until the age of ten and all the teachings were (and still are) in my head. To me, the vampire mythos was terrifying and vampires were demons from the bowels of hell itself.

It wasn’t just vampires. I watched another Hammer horror film as a slightly older kid called “The Devil Rides Out” based on a novel by Dennis Wheatley and that too was terrifying because it featured Satan himself.

Worse, I watched “The Omen” and that movie had further elements about the Catholic church and the Antichrist himself. The final straw was The Exorcist, which I saw at the age of 18 and is still the scariest movie I have ever seen, because it deals with demonic possession and all that entails.

These days, I have a more rational and scientific mind. I haven’t been a regular churchgoer since the age of 16 and I question everything now, particularly the roles of God and Satan in my life. I don’t want to start a post on religion because it can be a very divisive subject to debate but the bottom line is that my logical and scientific mind makes me question everything.

What I do know is that vampires do not exist and I seriously doubt if the demons and other hellish entities do either. I now embrace horror fiction and I have loved rewatching those old movies with a clearer and less indoctrinated brain.

That said – I have only seen The Exorcist that one time. It scared me so much that I am actually wary about watching it again. I guess some of that fear still exists.

2. Imagine your 12-year-old daughter (or granddaughter) is hosting a sleepover at your home. A sudden storm knocks out cellphone service, wifi and cable. How would you keep these suddenly unplugged pre-teens entertained?

When my kids were that age, we used to play board games such as Monopoly. At one point I had three different versions of it; a Manchester one, a Star Wars one and a Simpson’s one. It was good fun.

These days there are so many board games that I can barely keep up with them. I think such things could keep a twelve year old entertained for a few hours.

3. What piece of movie or TV memorabilia would you love to own?

Way back in 1989, I went to the United States for the first time and on that trip, I visited Universal Studios in Los Angeles which I thoroughly enjoyed. Two things stuck with me from that trip.

The first were props from the 1960’s TV show Land of the Giants, one in particular being an giant telephone. The second was KITT, the car from Knight Rider, which was parked on a little island on it’s own. I crossed the bridge to have my photo taken with it and it started talking to me, opening with:

“Are you just going to stand there putting your dirty fingerprints all over my bodywork or are you going to have a chat?”

So from that trip, I would have both the phone and KITT.

And of course, I am a huge fan of Dr Who and from that show, perhaps a replica TARDIS and a Dalek.

All of this is straight out of the Big Bang Theory and I know that I haven’t enough room for any of them really. Besides, Mrs PM would never allow it.

4. You are gifted with the services of a personal assistant for four hours. What would you ask your assistant to do?

I have a few things on my “To Do” list that I need to do but haven’t got around to doing yet (because of a melange of laziness and procrastination). I think there is about four hours work there – and if there isn’t I would ask Mrs PM to fill up the remaining time from her “To Do” list.

5. If literary characters were real, which one would you like to interview, and what would you ask?

I would probably interview the “Time Traveller” from “The Time Machine” by H. G. Wells. In that book he travels forward in time from 1895 to the year 802,701. The first thing I would ask him would be “Can I have a go?” followed closely by “Why didn’t you travel into the past instead?”

It's Me ... Again

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 13:38:00 +0000

Welcome to South Manchester on a cold and wet November morning. On days like this I think of Guns ‘n’ Roses song November Rain because that’s what it looks like outside. The rain is cold, the sky is overcast and it looks dark despite the fact that it is midday.

We are descending inexorably towards winter like a runaway train, which means long cold nights, dull overcast days and lots of rain and stormy weather.

I hate winter, I really do.

Nevertheless, there are good things on the horizon. Christmas is just around the corner and I get to escape the inhospitable weather in late January because we are off to Malaysia and Hong Kong. It is all booked and paid for and we are off for jabs next week.

Last night I was at yet another gig, this time I was with Mrs PM and we saw Heaven 17, a pop band from the early 1980’s who were big in the UK (not sure about the rest of the world). It was a real blast from the past and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is an example of their work.

Let’s dive in and answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing.

1. Has anyone ever told you "I love you" but you didn't say it back?

I have no idea. I hear people say “that’s why we love you” sometimes, usually when we are making fun of each other and it is nothing more than platonic tomfoolery.

It’s a rare thing to hear somebody say “I love you” while staring deeply into your eyes. On those occasions I have actually said it back because they have been romantic situations.

2. Do you consider yourself organized?

I am fairly organised but I can be totally disorganised. I usually know where everything is even in the chaotic parts of my house. I have several storage boxes in my loft clearly labelled to state what is inside (for example “University stuff”) and I have an “in tray” of sorts on my desk that looks disorganised but really is in a sort of chaotic order. Every so often I sort through it and put things in the places they belong. I know exactly where all of my important documents are and, for example, when I am going on a trip, I usually make sure that everything I need is ready at least a couple of days before the trip.

3. Where do you look first when you go clothes shopping?

I tend to do my cloths shopping online these days and I usually dive in every couple of months to do this with a clear list of what I need to get. There is an exception though. My eldest son is getting married in December and I bought a new three piece suit specifically for that, which meant a trip to the shops. It was relatively easy but I realised when I was trying the thing on why I hate cloths shopping so much.

4. Do you often reflect on your past in terms of eras or milestones ("it's been 10 years since X happened")?

I do this all the time. For example, we had a university reunion in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago and all of us were saying “It’s 41 years since we left university” and “I’ve known you for 45 years – how scary is that?”

It’s been 41 years since I started work and I retired exactly 40 years later to the actual day. You can probably work out with simple maths that I have been retired a year now.

I will probably continue remembering my past life in terms of milestones. I think it’s the way my mind works.

5. Were you more recently ill or injured (flu vs. twisted ankle)?

I was more recently ill – but not that ill. I had a cold a couple of weeks ago, the first one of winter. It was irritating but it didn’t stop me from doing anything. I’ve noticed a couple of people coughing recently so I imagine that another will appear in the winter months.

Exposed

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 15:45:00 +0000

Welcome to a sunny South Manchester where sky is blue, the clouds are white yet the Autumn temperature is a chilly 8°C (46 °F). It’s been a busy weekend for me and that will culminate with my going to a gig this evening at the Manchester AO Arena.

The band I am going to see is The Offspring. Do you remember them? If you don’t, here they are:

Enough of that. Let’s dive into some silly questions from Sunday Stealing.

1. If you were an animal, what animal would you be?

I think that I would be some form of cat, either a domestic cat but more likely an apex predator like a lion. Either way, I think cats have a great life. In the house they are pampered by their owners (or should I say slaves) but in the wild, the rule their environment. I think life would be good in either case.

2. Are you generous?

I am quite generous, yes. I’m not stupid about it but I like to help people in any way I can.

3. Of the following, which consistently gives you the most pleasure: a) music, b) money, c) books, d) science, e) spirituality, f) food and wine, g) movies?

All of them give me immense pleasure apart from, perhaps, spirituality, because I am not that spiritual. I used to be, when I was a child (as a Roman Catholic), but I have a scientific and analytical mind and spirituality and religion don’t really fit into that way of thinking.

Money allows me to enjoy all of them so really, I guess I could argue that without that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the rest of them. But I am not a greedy person and while it is nice to have money, I do not actively seek to fill my coffers out of pure voracity. I just want enough to enjoy music, books, food, wine/beer and movies.

4. Describe your dancing ability.

I was recently at a friend’s wedding and the bride came over to me during the after wedding party. She said “Why aren’t you dancing?”.

I wanted to say “Because the music is crap!” but I didn’t. I told her that I didn’t know the song, which was, strictly speaking true because it was some hip-hop R’n’B dancey tune that I couldn’t identify.

“That doesn’t matter,” she replied grabbing my hand.

I couldn’t refuse to dance with the bride now, could I? It was after all her big day.

So I joined her on the dance floor and did my usual trick which to try to listen to the words and “act them out” in a silly manner. This was difficult because I didn’t really know the words. But then a new song came on that I knew.

And I danced to it is a really silly way.

The bride approached me and said “You have some good moves”.

I took that as a compliment but I was just joking around.

My style of dancing has bitten me though. At a company Christmas party several years ago, I was a little merry and I found myself dancing with a group of people to “Like a Prayer” by Madonna. I started to dance out the words and one of my mates joined in the fun.

And then the words “I’m down on my knees I want to take you there” came out, so we both plunged to our knees.

And it bloody hurt.

I couldn’t get up for a few seconds. My mate, who is much younger and fitter than me was back up standing, laughing his head off. I managed to stand up and Mrs PM came over and told both of us off, him for laughing and me for being a bloody idiot. I limped off the dance floor like scolded puppy.

So, yes, I can dance. I dance like an idiot but in the chaos, there are some good moves (apparently).

5. What do you think your worst enemy really thinks of you?

I have no idea who my worst enemy is. I am sure that there are people out there who don’t like me but if I sense that in people I avoid them. They probably think that I am a weird, geeky, boring idiot. And they are probably right. But I embrace that. I am not going to change for them.

These days I don't really car what people think of me.

6. Can you tell when someone is lying to you?

Sometimes. I have an analytical mind so I can sometimes spot contradictions and flaws when people are lying to me.

I heard recently that the best way to tell if someone is lying to you is to stay quiet and let them slowly dig themselves into a hole. I think, as a technique, it probably works.

7. Describe how it feels to fall in love.

It feels amazing but I can’t really tell you any specifics. It kind of looms up on you and takes you by surprise.

8. In deadly peril, what three people would you want in a foxhole with you?

I would choose survivalist specialist Bear Grylls because he would be able to keep us alive. I would choose a young Chuck Norris character because nobody messes with Chuck Norris. Finally I would choose a medical person to sort me out if I got injured.

This gives me an excuse to dig out some Chuck Norris facts:

Chuck Norris died twenty years ago but the Grim Reaper is too scared to tell him.

Chuck Norris created a giraffe by uppercutting a horse.

Chuck Norris drinks napalm to fight his heartburn

Chuck Norris has counted to infinity … twice

Chuck Norris is the only man who can punch you in the back of the face

9. What is your greatest weakness?

I battle constantly with procrastination, so much so that I have mentioned it a lot on this blog.

10. If you were to live out the rest of your life as your favourite fictional character, which would you choose?

Probably somebody with super powers. I think that Harry Keogh from the Necroscope series of books by Brian Lumley. Basically, he can talk to the dead and has used that information to be able to be able to use maths and the Möbius Continuum to teleport anywhere and anywhen. Obviously I would want to be the human version before he was turned into arguably the world’s most dangerous vampire.

See what I mean about being weird?

Madvertising

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 16:31:00 +0000

Can I just say something? No?

Tough – I’m going to say it anyway. Here it is:

I am bloody sick of adverts.

There – I’ve said it.

Back in the day when I was just a kid, I didn’t mind adverts too much. Some of them were funny, some of them were interesting and I regarded them as having a purpose other than just trying to sell stuff. As I grew older, I started to hate them but I know that they served a purpose for me, though this wasn’t the purpose that the marketers intended.

Basically, when the adverts came on, I could take a break, go to the loo, make a cup of tea, etc. without missing my favourite TV programmes. With the advent of video recorders I could record TV programmes and watch them later at my own leisure and just skip the adverts.

That made me happy.

These days I can download TV programmes and movies to watch and I can stream them on a variety of streaming platforms. Initially I paid good money for this and as a result I got unblemished TV content that was commercial free.

That made me extremely happy.

Recently, though, things have become really annoying. Streaming services have upped their game and started offering cheaper tariffs – but with a catch. That catch is that you are once again bombarded with commercials. In order to remove commercials I have to fork out a lot of money and this is on top of paying for my satellite/cable service and paying the mandatory TV Licence we have in the UK.

What is the TV Licence? In the UK the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) is free of commercials because we the public have to pay an annual fee to watch it. Perhaps it was the first TV service of its kind. Even though I don’t watch the BBC as much as I used to, I still have to pay it. If you don’t pay for your TV licence, the powers that be, the TV police, can came along and either fine you £1000 (at the time of writing) or be further prosecuted. We have no choice. The money goes to the BBC who spend it on content.

Now, if I watch something on Disney+ or Netflix with the cheaper subscription rate, I have to suffer mandatory commercials. You can’t skip them at all. Effectively I am paying to watch adverts and in order to remove them I am expected to pay a fortune. Given the number of streaming platforms, that can add up to a lot of money.

However, these days adverts aren’t restricted to television. They are everywhere.

ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE!

And I can’t get rid of them without paying a premium. Here are some examples:

They appear in the cinema before the movie you have paid to watch. You can avoid many of these by turning up later and hopefully missing all the adverts.

They appear on the radio. I rarely listen to radio these days but when I do I choose BBC Radio 4, which is a news channel effectively but has no adverts. The reason I don’t listen to other stations is that most radio stations have a melange of three things that make my blood boil. First, the DJ’s are usually the kind of shiny happy people that seem to think all the listeners want to listen to their inane bullshit as they talk over records. Second, the music is not my kind of music and if by a miracle it is, the songs are spoiled and interrupted by jingles and bullshit from the DJ’s. Finally, the adverts on radio are the worst and are awful.

I watch You Tube a lot for free but this means that I have to endure adverts every couple of minutes. I like progressive rock music, which typically has longer songs and if I choose to watch, say, a Dream Theater video on You Tube that lasts 10 minutes, it is interrupted at least once with adverts. One time, I tried to use a You Tube mindfulness video to relax into to go to sleep and I was just nodding off when a bloody advert tried to persuade me to buy a new smart watch thus rendering useless the previous calming five minutes of relaxing music and guaranteeing that I was now wide awake and ranting like a banshee, which resulted in waking up Mrs PM and the cats and all the chaos that ensues when I am foolhardy enough to do that.

I am using Duolingo to help me to learn French, Spanish and German. The problem is that I spend more time watching terrible adverts for Temu and other useless apps than I do learning a new language.

I am on Spotify and have paid for the full subscription to avoid commercials while listening to music. I am afraid that having my music interrupted by commercials is something I cannot endure.

Other apps that I use also swamp me with terrible adverts.

This infuriates me.

I think we are all left with a choice. We either spend a fortune to avoid adverts or we suck it up and endure them.

At this moment in my life, when I am a happy retired gentleman I have to learn to find the power within myself to endure these dreadful commercials because there is absolutely no way I am going to give any more of my hard-earned cash to corporations who seem to love creating the worst adverts to defecate onto my TV screen or smartphone.

I have started making a cup of tea when the adverts come on streamed TV programmes. I have started looking at Spanish, French and German books in the minutes that are wasted by Duolingo’s adverts.

I have found soothing commercial-free music on Spotify to help me on the way to sleep should I need to.

I will get there but in the meantime there may be some rants along the way.

Actually, as a final word, I can cope with spoof adverts. If there were more of these it would be much better. I’ll leave you with a couple:

Scary Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:46:00 +0000

Welcome to South Manchester on a Friday afternoon on Hallowe’en where the weather is not to bad – a little cloudy but rain free.

Regular readers will know that I am not a fan of the hype that is Hallowe’en. To me it is too commercialised and American and I don’t want endless kids knocking my door saying “trick or treat”.

I don’t mind the horror aspect of it though. Last night, for example, I watched a documentary called “Uncanny” which was really creepy and talked about a man who was being haunted by the “shadow man”, a seven foot tall figure who had no features and was described as “blacker than black” with no facial features at all, a kind of powerful-looking menacing and sinister entity that kept appearing to him after his father’s death. You could have dismissed it as imagination had several of his friends and family not seen this thing as well.

It creeped me out and I had to watch an hour or two of comedy before I went to bed so that I could sleep easier.

Now that is what Hallowe’en is about to me - being scared and watching scary movies and shows, not kids dressing up and asking for sweets. I guess I am the Hallowe’en equivalent of The Grinch or Ebeneezer Scrooge. I don’t care. America is welcome to this weird tradition.

So what am I doing tonight to avoid these kids?

I’m going to Manchester city centre to have a beer and then watch, arguably the world’s greatest Abba tribute act, called “Bjorn Again” with Mrs PM and some friends. They come from Australia and have been touring the world since the late 1980’s.

I am a closet Abba fan so I think it will be very enjoyable, certainly better than constantly answering the door to kids all night.

Let’s answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing, shall we?

1. What was the last thing you laughed at?

I laugh a lot actually but the last thing I remember laughing at was excerpt from a Laurel and Hardy short that I spotted on the internet this morning. The clip was from “Helpmates”. You can watch the whole thing below but the excerpt I laughed at was two minutes from the 8 minute mark:

I love Laurel and Hardy.

2. Who among your friends/family "gets" your sense of humour?

Mrs PM and my kids get my sense of humour as do quite a few friends. Most people I know love the typical British humour that pervades a lot of our comedy shows. We have a unique sense of humour in my country that some foreigners just don’t really get at all. The only nation that comes close to our humour is Australia because as big as the friendly rivalry between our two nations, they share our sense of humour almost exactly.

I love comedy and I can appreciate humour of other places, like the US for example, where they have some really good comedy shows. For example, Mrs PM and I are currently enjoying “Parks and Recreation” from the America, an older show that I had only discovered this year. It is funny.

Here is some British humour for you.

3. What jewellery are you wearing at this moment?

Unless you count a watch as jewellery, the answer is none.

4. If you could offer one bit of etiquette that everyone should follow while dining out, what would it be?

I’ll offer several (because I am a rebel).

Do not talk while chewing.

Chew with your mouth closed.

Do not drink the finger bowl.

Do not flick peas at other diners.

Do not lick the plate clean.

5. What's the first thing a guest would notice when they walked through your front door?

The Gene Simmons Cat picture hanging on the wall:

Top Ten Queen Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 21:52:00 +0000

Queen were one of those bands that I was a fan of when I was a spotty teenager and they remained so until the untimely death of their enigmatic frontman Freddy Mercury. I loved them before they became a global phenomenon.

I would estimate that I first heard music by them way back in 1974, when their second album, the blandly named “Queen II”, was released. It was a big hit amongst my friends at school and I didn’t really take notice of them until I heard a song called “Killer Queen” from their third album, with a much more interesting name – “Sheer Heart Attack”.

From that point I was hooked. At that point they were more of a rock band and it was only after this release that their style evolved into something more, crossing several musical boundaries, ranging from pure pop to progressive rock, from art rock to electronic disco with added symphonic rock and even operatic and orchestral tendencies in places.

Their style was kind of unique in that anything was on the table. And being a fan of progressive music, that really resonated with me.

My love of Queen peaked when I was lucky enough to see them perform live at Knebworth in 1986, which was the year after their legendary performance at Live Aid in 1985 and, sadly, was the very last live performance of their wonderful front man, Freddy Mercury. I was honoured to be there.

Freddy was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, and kept it quiet for four years before revealing his diagnosis publicly. Tragically, he died shortly afterwards and that was then end of Queen for me.

The band still exists in a sense because Brian May and Roger Taylor still perform as Queen but with a guest vocalist. That, to me at least, isn’t Queen and the bass player John Deacon also agrees because he retired when Freddy died. People still go to their shows but not me. It’s not the same without Freddy.

I enjoyed the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody” and can tolerate the inaccuracies that I know weren’t true, for example, Freddy being diagnosed with AIDS before Live Aid. I think Rami Malek’s portrayal of Freddy was incredible and he deserved his Oscar and all of the other accolades he received.

Such is their appeal that even Mrs PM loves them and she is not traditionally a lover of rock music. We have several of their songs on our joint playlist.

I have decided to present to you, dear reader, my favourite ten Queen songs. Again, with such a vast catalogue, many Queen fans may disagree with my choice. To be honest, that doesn’t bother me. Such is their range that I would imagine every Queen fan will select a different top ten.

And it’s really difficult. Ask me another time and I will pick a different ten.

Here’s mine:

(10) Somebody To Love (from A Day At The Races - 1976)

The vocals on this song are exquisite and not just the harmonies. Freddie’s voice is superb throughout. I was even impressed with the version that George Michael performed at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert – although it is quite clear, comparing the two, that Freddie was a much better vocalist.

(9) Was It All Worth It? (from The Miracle - 1989)

I remember sitting in a pizza restaurant in Birmingham when for some reason this song came on as background music. I instantly recognised Freddie Mercury’s dulcet tones and assumed that it was their new single. I hadn’t heard it before and the following week I realised that they had a new album, which I promptly bought on the strength of this song alone.

The video shows a pocket history of the bad up to the album “The Miracle”.

(8) Radio Ga Ga (from The Works – 1984)

This is a special song because it reminds me of my third and final year at university. It is also a return to form for Queen after the disappointing "Hot Space" album. I remember when they performed this at Knebworth in 1986, Freddy Mercury had the entire crowd in the palm of his hand and we all sang the chorus with him and I had a huge smile on my face.

(7) Play The Game (from The Game – 1980)

This may surprise people but I love the melody of this song and once more Freddy’s voice is excellent. I particularly like when it veers off-piste at about the 2 minute mark.

(6) Princes of the Universe (from A Kind of Magic - 1986)

Air guitar time. The first Highlander film was fantastic – the rest were garbage. "Princes of the Universe" is an ideal accompaniment to the first movie. It is a great rock song with brilliant guitar and pounding drums. This is a great Queen song.

(5) Gimme The Prize (from A Kind of Magic - 1986)

Keep out your air guitar and crank up the heaviness "Gimme the Prize" is also used in the soundtrack to Highlander and shows Queen at their heaviest, which is understandable since it is the bad guy's theme. Turn up the volume and enjoy.

(4) Now I’m Here (from Sheer Heart Attack – 1974)

I love this song and it gives a taste of what’s to come in terms of the band harmonising and playing with vocals in a similar way to Bohemian Rhapsody. You can see how the band was evolving.

(3) Brighton Rock (from Sheer Heart Attack – 1974)

"Brighton Rock" wasn’t a single and comes from Queen’s third album "Sheer Heart Attack". While you may not regard this as chart material, it appeals to me, firstly because it is a great slice of classic rock and secondly because it shows just what an incredible guitarist Brian May is. It’s edgy, raw and brilliant. Keep your air guitar out again, dear reader – you’re gonna need it.

If you like the song, check out the live version – it’s even better.

(2) Bohemian Rhapsody (from A Night at the Opera - 1975)

It took a while for me to like this song and I think most of the world thought the same. It was a bizarre choice for a single and a risk because nobody had done anything like it before. After hearing it a few times, I began to appreciate what a masterpiece it really is. It was probably the first progressive rock song I heard – a mini opera complete with wonderful harmonies.

You can’t deny it is a classic and has been used to great effect in the movie "Wayne’s World":

And also the version by the Muppets – this is funny:

(1) The Prophet’s Song (from A Night at the Opera - 1975)

If you like "Bohemian Rhapsody", you will absolutely love this less commercial offering from the same album. "The Prophet’s Song" is a progressive masterpiece, coming in at a cool eight minutes with incredible vocal harmonies. Sit back and enjoy the perfect Queen song.

That’s it, dear reader.

Feel free to let me know your favourite song by Queen.

Finally, if you like the heavier side of Queen, have a listen to this metal masterpiece from Brian May with the magnificent and legendary drummer Cozy Powell pounding hell out of the drums. It's called "Resurrection".

Five

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 15:41:00 +0000

Greetings from South Manchester where the Autumn chill has been banished briefly by pleasant sunshine. It’s slightly windy but the temperature is perfect for a nice walk. It’s hard to believe that November is almost upon us, especially as the clocks go back tonight, meaning I can spend an extra hour in bed (which of course the cats will not allow).

As predicted, the western world is preparing us for Christmas despite the fact that it is two months away. We already have Christmas movies appearing on various TV channels.

Why?

Christmas is okay but only in December in my opinion.

I am not Ebenezer Scrooge by the way; I’m just saying that my birthday is nowhere near to Christmas and that’s when the tsunami of Christmas nonsense starts appearing in my life.

I will try to answer some silly questions in order to distract myself from what could turn into a mild rant. As usual the culprit is Sunday Stealing.

FIVE things on my To-Do list:

1. We’re off to Malaysia early next year so I have to make sure that I book an appointment to check whether Mrs PM and I need to be vaccinated. We may be okay but I like to check. Can I just add that I am glad that we don’t have a nutter like RFK Jr in charge of our health over here in the UK. What is going on in America? That’s a future blog post I think.

2. I need to join Manchester’s library network. I read books on my Kindle but there are many other services that the library can offer to a retired person like me.

3. My laptop is starting to show signs of age and Mrs PM has kindly told me that I can use her brand spanking new all-singing all-dancing one, which means that I have to set up a user and copy all my junk across to it. She hardly uses it but I am on a laptop frequently.

4. I have a lot of box files full of papers, old photographs etc. that I really need to sort out. I can probably discard a lot of stuff in there but, when it comes to the photos, I should probably sort them all out, discard the rubbish ones and put the rest in a bunch of photo albums. This is definitely a winter task so I will aim to start this within the next month or so.

5. Talking of photos, I have hundreds of them in the cloud and on my laptop so I need to do something with them too. I have considered creating a photo book from the best ones. Another winter task methinks.

FIVE snacks I enjoy:

1. Cheese on crackers/biscuits. A nice little mid-evening snack if I’m feeling peckish.

2. Almonds.

3. Flame raisins.

4. Apples.

5. Dark chocolate.

FIVE places I have lived:

1. Walsall – a town about 12 miles north of Birmingham. I was born there. I lived there from 1962 to 1981.

2. Liverpool – a famous city in the north of England, where the Beatles are from. I was a student there and I love the place. I am going back for a university reunion in two weeks’ time. I lived there from 1981 to 1984.

3. Altrincham – a town in Greater Manchester about 10 miles south west of Manchester. I lived there from 1985 to 1998.

4. Hong Kong – I visited there many times between 1993 and 1999 with work but in 1999 I lived there for about three months while supporting the system I had worked on.

5. Manchester – 1984 to 1985 and 1998 to the present. I love this city and becoming an honorary, if not plastic, Mancunian. I don’t plan to leave.

FIVE jobs I have held:

1. A newsagent’s assistant when I was at school I started off delivering newspapers, but after a year, I started doing more for the owner of the shop, including stock taking, serving in the shop etc.

2. A postman. While I was at university I became a postman at Christmas time in Walsall to help with the massive increase in volume of post during that time. I actually really enjoyed it as a job.

3. A software developer. This was my main job from the age of 21 until I retired. Basically I spent most of my career writing software for a variety of projects but mainly (certainly for the last 30 years) software in airports. You can probably see the fruits of my labour in several airports dotted around the planet.

4. A development database administrator, which went hand in hand with being a software developer. I was regarded as the “database expert”, though I wasn’t a full time database administrator as such but I knew a lot about it. I wrote a lot of software around the database and generally sorted out issues with the product database as they arose.

5. A software trainer. I’ve travelled to a few places to train the people who use our software, including the USA, Russia, China, South Africa and a couple of places in Europe. Not my favourite part of the job by a long way and was an unfortunate necessity because of my knowledge of the system.

I Am I Said

noreply@blogger.com (Plastic Mancunian) — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 12:29:00 +0000

Welcome to a cloudy South Manchester on a Saturday afternoon. I just have time for a blog post before getting ready to go to the Manchester Apollo later, with Mrs PM, to see the Stranglers, a band that started off as a punk rock band back in the 1970s and are still around 50 odd years later. Although no longer a punk band, they are still producing good music. Here are a couple of songs from “then” compared to “now”.

No More Heroes – 1977

White Stallion – 2021

I’m looking forward to reviving the inner punk from my childhood.

In the meantime, let’s answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing.

I AM …

I am a 63 year old retired IT consultant/software engineer who is enjoying life outside the rat race and the politics of work. I have a largely eclectic taste in music and I am a weird geek who loves weird things. I could perhaps fit into a British remake of The Big Bang Theory if I were younger. I love to travel and do so whenever I can. I am also an adopted Northerner living in Manchester coming originally from a town in “The Black Country” called Walsall where people talk like this:

I guess I am a Mancunian Yam Yam (if such a thing exists).

I LIVE …

I live in a leafy suburb about five miles south of Manchester city centre. My house was built in 1903 and I know this because when we moved in, we stripped the lounge walls down to the original plaster and found a message from one of the original builders with the date and his name (corroborated by the deeds). It has three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, a loft that is easily big enough to use as storage space, a lounge, a man cave (though Mrs PM calls it the “back room”) which can be adapted easily to be a second lounge or a dining room and a kitchen. There is a small garden and a brick outhouse where we store garden equipment and all manner of other junk.

This is my house of course but it is owned and run by my furry overlords, Ziggy and Star(dust).

I THINK …

I think all the time about weird and wonderful stuff. I am a bit weird, it has to be said. My mind to me is a strange place where I can retreat to and use my imagination to float mindfully (aided by music if necessary).

I KNOW …

I know a lot of useless facts that I have picked up on my journey through time from 1962 to 2025 (and counting). A few years ago, I was asked to join a quiz team from work consisting of a couple of young lads who had only ever finished at most fourth in the pub quiz. When I became a member of their team, we won. In fact, we never finished lower than third when I was in the team.

I WANT …

I want a peaceful and active life, which is why I am doing my best to not watch the news on TV (it drives me to rant)!

I WISH …

I wish the world wasn’t so divided. I plan to write a blog post about this because whenever I hear news about the UK, it seems that we are more divided than ever at the moment. We are following in the footsteps of the US with our own version of Donald Trump, a man-frog called Nigel Farage, who is a grifter, a chancer and a disruptor and is stirring up a pot of hatred with lies. This is why I am trying to resist the temptation to watch the news.

I PRAY …

Actually – I don’t pray. I was christened as a Roman Catholic and I went to church religiously (if you will pardon the pun) until the age of 16 when I decided to follow the fascinating scientific path and consider alternatives about the origins of the universe. However, I was indoctrinated with certain beliefs so although God is not part of my life, those old teachings from my past are still there and I would never call myself an atheist. I actually think religion can be a good thing and I love chatting to religious types about their beliefs. I think that religion can bring comfort to people and I welcome that – even if I don’t believe it.

I would rather believe that the universe is a vast unknown entity with trillions of galaxies, each of which has billions of stars, each of which has several planets. My mind is boggled by the scale of this and I would love to know more.