Symptoms

Tony, I was just being cheeky with the "cabin boy" reference ... images of Captain Pugwash's cabin boy Tom (you're old enough, I guess, to remember this telly cartoon).

Never mind the bands, what about the long lost Forum members; where are they now? Pete, Hamburger Pimp, Cympil, and my old sparring partner Monsta.

That Canterbury tipple could well have been a Shepherd Neame* brew ...maybe Master Brew. Back when you were a MN cabin boy most booze available nationwide was keg muck so palettes weren't used to cask ales (real ale), maybe that's why you squirmed. The UKIP Daddy likes a drop of their stuff. *They had/have lots and lots of Kent boozers being the local brewery.

Tonp wrote: "... just sees a bunch of gullible people wanting to spend hard earned cash ...". A charge that can be levelled at most business owners.

"Ate nowt" was a very old joke about a mackem result from donkeys years ago ... it was trawled-up from the dark recesses of my addled brain and I just couldn't help sharing it with everybody here. No need to dragoon our 'in house' lingo expert Canny. Wise old Sym often likes a play on words, in this case indicative past tense or even subjunctive imperfect mixed with a local dialect adverb or pronoun word. Yep, I could have written 8 - 0 but where's the fun in that ... apart from us Toon supporters basking in the continuing discomfort of the inbreds cowering in that tin shed on the banks of that rancid Wear gutter. Plenty more from where that came from

Followed by Wing Commander Symptoms in his Spitfire. Brave Symptoms had just returned from a straffing mission over the City of Southampton in support of our brave allies 'The Saints'. The mission was a total success as the axismackem forces of evil were routed. Earlier reports suggested that the axismackem ate nowt for their lunch (get it?).

Some oldies here might like to be reminded of the vibrant music scene in the NE back in the 60s & 70s. You can mine down using the Venue menu for the likes of the Rex Hotel in Whitley Bay, ditto the Clubs in the Toon. Also he's got a comprehesive list of acts with dates, etc. For our younger viewers ... just look what you missed-out on. Have a look at Roger's blog here: http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/

There always was money available to build ... it's just that the Government didn't allow Councils to borrow. That bxxxxxd Blair and his gang of New Labour gangsters missed a real opportunity to begin repairing the broken housing market ... just imagine if they'd started in '96 there wouldn't now be a crisis.

Mal - as you know, I reckon everbody sells out at some stage, even 'The Daddy'.

Blimey! Are the mackems really charging that amount for folks to get into that tin shed of theirs? I wonder if those few who do turn up know they are likely to be contaminated by the thousands of tons of low-level nuclear waste that was dumped down the old Monkwearmouth pit before the Stadium of Plight was cobbled together and plonked on top?

Short back and sides please and 'something for the weekend'. Our older viewers will be able to decode this.

Johnny Rotten summed up his view in The Guardian today ... "Ukip are a black hole for the ignorant to fall into." See his video at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2014/oct/15/john-lydon-russell-brand-revolution-video I said it elsewhere, Johnny is 'The Daddy'.

I take it back, Russell ain't 'The Daddy', Johnny Rotten is! http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2014/oct/15/john-lydon-russell-brand-revolution-video

Why do old dance halls burn down? Why do seaside piers go up in flames? Why do many old buildings get tumbled? Spot a pattern here ... yep, it's often the owners/developers after the insurance money or trying to circumvent planning difficulties. A note to 'learned friends' ...I am not suggesting that those who tumbled the smithy are involved for any of the above reasons!!!!!!!!

The really big thing in London in the late 60s and early 70s was the college circuit. From the big colleges, like the LSE and Goldsmiths, through to the smaller ones like Gypsy Hill all had weekly gigs. The whole thing was well organised and some of the colleges had really big halls, complete with proper stages and theatre lightling sets. Some amazingly famous bands played on the circuit and the advertising, via the National Union of Student network, always ensured big crowds; you had to show your NUS card to get in when paying your entrance fee (Joe Public wasn't allowed in 'cos of the seriously subsidised bars). At the Freshers' Fair (held at the start of the academic year) all the new students would sign-up for various societies and clubs, I signed up and joined the Social Committee which organised gigs and as a result got to meet lots of these bands in the Green Room where much 'hospitality' was shared. Plenty of tales to tell but maybe the Forum isn't the place.

Russell is 'The Daddy'.

Marlene Lightly was in the Sixth Form with me at Bedlington Grammar ... she'll be 63 now.

The Lynx DID morph into Middle Earth ... must have been 67/68ish. Yep, my initial post was a little late but I only spotted the news in The Guardian yesterday. When I was 14 (1965) I joined a band called Lou and The Lions led by Malcolm Farquhar (he was much older than me) and we used to practice in his bedroom in Clovelly Gardens; I was only in the band a very short time. Mal was a canny lead guitarist and singer and I played rhythm guitar. Our first gig was playing for the Scouts & Guides dance in the Hall at the start of Clovelly Gdns. Another pal of mine asked if I'd join his group, The Iron Ties, playing guitar and piano (but only if the venue had one, although Hammond organs were quite common in clubs so these were often used by me) - think of me as a very poor mans Jools Holland. We were on the books of a booking agent in the Toon so got quite a bit of work in the clubs. Goodness knows how I managed to balance this with my school work!!! I stayed in this band until I went down to Uni in London in 69.

Hers'e a photo of my forward observer directing my straffing run over the Stadium of Shite.

Maggs wrote: "Would Maggie Thatcher have been successful without the oil revenues?" ????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Over to you GGG

Spot on GGG about that slime ball Shapps or Michael Green in his other life. I reckon he could enjoy pulling the wings off flies and the legs off spiders.

How about a Spitfire ... yours for £1,650,000. Available now - link below. I can only dream ... climbing into the cockpit very early on a Saturday morning, hopping over mountains and seas, landing at the Toon airport, hopping onto the Metro to St James, watching the match, then returning to the Spit, detouring over the Stadium of Shite and riddling the place with 50 calibre rounds, barrel roll, then back home. http://www.platinumfighters.com/#!spitfire-18/masterpage_29

Try "Stuart Gordon Violin" on Google for even more stuff about Stuart.

Got a shock when I got to The Guardian's obituary page (link below) this morning to discover that my old school friend Stuart Gordon had died of cancer recently, he was 63. Stuart was at the 'Top End' Primary School with me then he went to the Grammar becoming Head Boy. When I joined the 6th Form there he welcomed me by introducing me to everybody ... a true gent. He was a brilliant musician and played in local bands, like me, throughout the mid to late sixties ... we were in rival bands but would often loan equipment to each other for gigs. His dad was the undertaker at the top of Front St and his band would practice in the hearse garage at the back of his house; I sometimes jammed with him there. I think his twin brother Keith still lives in the Bedders area. When I went to Uni in London in 69 we went our separate ways but in 1970 I met him by chance in Kensington Market (a hippy hangout full of joss sticks and Kaftan coats) in London. I spotted him across the hall and yelled "Smella" (his nickname at school was Smella Gordon) and we embraced like long-lost brothers. He was living just around the corner from me in Kensington Church St and was playing with the Incredible String Band; we stayed in contact until I went off travelling after Uni. We lost contact after my return. Google "Stuart Gordon Musician" for his history. http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/09/stuart-gordon-obituary The obituary isn't accurate about his schooling.

GGG ... substitute Tory for Labour in your posting above and the meaning stays essentially the same. None of them has a cogent arguement that can be defended - the phrase 'twisting in the wind' comes to mind. As to ukip's take ... presumably, the saintly Malala Yousafzai would have failed the entry medical being looked at by them.